Jackson County wastewater testing shows surge in presence of COVID-19
Published 10:55 am Thursday, August 15, 2024
- Data from the Oregon Respiratory Viral Pathogen Wastewater Monitoring Dashboard last updated on Aug. 7 show facilities experiencing a sustained increase in the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in red (including both Ashland and Medford), an increase in orange, a plateau in yellow, decrease in light blue and sustained decrease in dark blue. Those with insufficient data are in grey.
Rates of COVID-19 infection have seen a sustained increase across Jackson County since July, according to the Oregon Health Authority’s wastewater monitoring efforts.
The uptick in COVID-19 infections falls in line with the rest of Oregon, where, as of Aug. 3, 17.5% of reported tests were positive statewide. The summer uptick is not unexpected, and is something public health officials have noticed over the past few years.
The only other year in which test rates were higher at this time was the week of July 23, 2022, when nearly 18% tests were positive, according to an Oregon Capital Chronicle story published Aug. 1, which added that the difference between then and now is that many people have become sick, which can provide some immunity, and many have been vaccinated.
“We do notice in the summer, in fact, people are traveling a lot more, and so sometimes with that traveling that we will see an increase in (COVID-19) cases,” said Tanya Phillips, health promotion and preparedness manager for Jackson County Public Health.
With an increase in infections, Phillips recommends folks make sure they stay up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccinations.
“It really is mimicking kind of like our flu vaccine, where it is seasonal,” Phillips said.
In late August to early September, an updated vaccine will be available at doctors offices, medical clinics and pharmacies. Jackson County Public Health’s Immunization Clinic will also offer vaccines. (For more information on the COVID-19 vaccine, go here.)
If you’re feeling sick, Phillips said to get tested. If you do have COVID-19, stay home until your fever is gone for at least 24 hours without taking any fever-reducing medication, such as Tylenol.
Phillips also encourages those who are sick to avoid interaction with high-risk individuals for at least 10 days.
“Masking as well is still really important, especially if you are the one that has symptoms and have COVID,” Phillips said.
Phillips said as August goes on that she is hopeful Jackson County will start to see infection rates level out and begin to decrease.
“The biggest thing is now, because we have the vaccine, is that we don’t see as many people needing to be hospitalized… and we’re not seeing as many fatalities related to COVID,” Phillips said. “That lets us know again, like the vaccination is working, our hospital systems are protected.”
