Updated 11/1/22
The Wyoming Department of Health reported ten new COVID-19 related deaths in the past three weeks. The state’s death toll is now 1,912.
The department also reported over 1,200 new confirmed and probable cases of the virus during the same time span. There are currently 213 confirmed active cases. Hospitalizations are increasing with 25 COVID-19 patients statewide. The Wyoming Medical Center is currently full with 11 patients.
Wyoming is at a 47 percent vaccination rate, meaning a majority of the state remains unvaccinated.
(Commercial labs are required to report positive test results to WDH; negative results are not reported consistently.)
The Wyoming Department of Health is collecting data from hospitals across Wyoming on general capacity as well as COVID-19 hospitalizations. These data are shown below and are updated on a daily basis.
Note that graphs may not display if you're using Internet Explorer. We recommend using Chrome.
Vaccinations
With federal authorization of the first vaccines meant to help prevent COVID-19, Wyoming is now administering the COVID-19 vaccine. Governor Gordon announced that all Wyoming residents ages 5 and older are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Additional information on how to get vaccinated in each county is available from the Wyoming Department of Health and by calling 1-800-438-5795.
Safety And Effectiveness
Clinical trials found the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to be close to 95% effective at preventing patients from developing COVID-19 symptoms after two doses, given 21 and 28 days apart, respectively.
Despite concerns from some people that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has a lower rate preventing moderate illness than the other vaccines, health officials said what’s more important is its rate of preventing severe illness and death. Officials said the new vaccine is on par with the other shots, and people should not turn down the chance to take the J&J shot.
There are short-term side effects expected with each vaccine — things like fatigue, pain where the shot was given or a low fever — some of which have reportedly been pretty severe in some patients. But infectious disease specialist Dr. Joel Trachtenberg said those are normal reactions and signs the body is priming itself to protect from the virus.
Should You Take It?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone get the vaccine, even if they are at high risk for serious complications or have already had COVID-19. Preliminary studies show the vaccines are effective against the variants of virus but more research is still being done.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said that somewhere between 70-90% of the U.S. would need to get vaccinated in order to develop herd immunity, when enough of the population is immune to a disease that those who are not are still protected.
COVID-19 vaccines may still feel new, but the science used to develop them is not. In addition, no safety steps were skipped in their development. The vaccine development maintained the same high safety standards required for all vaccines. There was unprecedented investment and streamlining to reduce red tape, but no safety shortcuts. Long-term side effects from vaccines are rare and typically occur within two months of vaccination. From decades of studying other illnesses and the vaccines to help protect against them, scientists and researchers have learned that side effects typically also occur with the diseases themselves. We do know that some children and others can definitely experience serious issues from COVID-19 illness.
News & Updates:
Wyoming Public Media would like to thank and recognize all health care workers, doctors, nurses caregivers, grocery store workers, truck drivers, and delivery workers during the global pandemic.
We also want to hear from you on how your community is responding. Tell us what you're seeing, hearing and experiencing on social media, use the hashtag #COVID19WY.
Wyoming Public Media welcomes you to share your story - How has COVID-19 impacted you?
- Wyoming Department of Health
- Wyoming COVID-19 Vaccine Information
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Updates
- World Health Organization Coronavirus Updates
- NPR Coronavirus Coverage
Resources:
- COVID-19.WYO.GOV
- Wyoming Technology Coronavirus Coalition
- Wyoming Coronavirus Mutual Aid & Resource Page
- Wyoming PBS
- When And How To Wash Your Hands
- CDC U.S. Map
- Johns Hopkins World Map
Neighbor To Neighbor: COVID-19 In Wyoming Town Halls
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The American Automobile Association predicts national travel will be back up to pre-pandemic levels, with 54.6 million people traveling more than 50 miles for the holiday. -
Health officials across the Mountain West are facing a triple threat of increased infections of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. Many hospitals, especially pediatric facilities, report being short on staff and beds as they grapple with a surge in patients.
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The Natrona Collective Health Trust in collaboration with the Wyoming Community Foundation has allocated over $2 million to improve the health and well-being of the county. $350,000 is being allocated over several years to organizations and nonprofits to help alleviate effects of COVID-19, such as suicide prevention and vaccine education and distribution efforts.
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New Department of Education data out Monday shows that student math and reading scores have suffered over the last few years. Between 2019 and this year, data shows that fourth and eighth grade scores suffered the most in math, but reading scores also took a hit.
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Though the death rate in rural America has decreased since the end of September, it is still significantly higher than in urban areas.
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Some jobs are coming back in Wyoming after the effects of the pandemic, but others aren’t as quicklyThe COVID-19 pandemic impacted seemingly every sector of the global economy. And those impacts are continuing to make their mark on the national and Wyoming economies. Wyoming Public Radio’s Hugh Cook asked Wenlin Liu of the state’s Department of Administration and Information's Economic Analysis Division how the Cowboy state is holding up after COVID.
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Animal Shelters in Wyoming have seen an increase in surrenders and stray animals in the past year leading to high-capacity issues. Recently, a University of Florida report found that in many places, this high capacity is due to the decrease in spay and neuter surgeries during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in Wyoming, there's more to it than just that.
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About 8 million people have received the COVID-19 bivalent booster shot nationwide — less than 3% of the eligible U.S. population.
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A new report shows that primary and secondary school students in Wyoming made better progress than students from other states during the pandemic months.
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People rushed out to adopt pets early on in the pandemic. But now shelters are filling to capacity. New research from the University of Florida suggests spay and neuter access plays a role.
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National unemployment rates continue to go down, but county job numbers in the Mountain West are extremely mixed. For example, Idaho was the only state where every county had an increase in jobs between July 2019 and July 2022. And Nevada was one of very few where every county reported job losses.
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Preliminary estimates show that the life expectancy of newborns is still declining in the U.S., from 77 in 2020 to 76 last year. A main driver is COVID-19. However, life expectancy decreased much more for American Indians and Alaskan Natives, who had a life expectancy of 65 last year.
