Updated 7/19/22
The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) reported four new coronavirus related deaths in the state. The state’s death toll is now 1,849.
WDH also reported 1,312 confirmed and probable cases since last week.
There are currently 468 active cases. Hospitalizations have increased with 42 COVID-19 patients statewide.
Wyoming is at a 46 percent vaccination rate, meaning a majority of the state remains unvaccinated.
Only 14 percent of children ages five to eleven are vaccinated and 34 percent of kids twelve to seventeen.
About 80 percent of those in Wyoming who have died of COVID-19 since the beginning of the last year have been unvaccinated.
WDH updates new cases and deaths on Tuesdays.
(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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You've probably heard a number of political candidates complain about the Federal COVID-19 spending. But it turns out that many of those candidates and party officials accepted over $3.5 million in federal relief subsidies. WyoFile reporter Maggie Mullen authored a story looking into the matter. -
The Biden administration is scrapping plans to offer COVID boosters for people under 50 this summer. Instead officials will push for an earlier release of the next generation boosters in the fall.
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Yellowstone National Park saw visitation decrease by almost half last month compared to summer 2021, and one gateway community is feeling the slump too.Last year in June, Yellowstone saw 938,845 visits, and this year it had 536,601 visits. According to a park press release, this is largely because of the historic flooding that shut down the park in early June.
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COVID-19 cases in nursing homes are climbing, and a new report reveals a wide range of case and vaccination rates in the Mountain West.
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The 79-year-old president "will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time," a White House statement said.
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With COVID safety protocols rescinding around the country, many are returning to a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy. But disabled and immunocompromised people can't do so, and are being left behind.
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BA.5 is now the dominant omicron strain in the U.S. It's good at evading the immune system, though doesn't appear to cause more serious illness.
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CDC advisers are recommending the use of two separate COVID-19 vaccines for the youngest children made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, paving the way for vaccine rollout as early as next week.
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State-run psychiatric hospitals have dozens of people coming in and then leaving days, weeks or months later. Surprisingly, most of these facilities in the Mountain West reported having far fewer COVID outbreaks and deaths than other group facilities.
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U.S. life expectancy was already lower than other high-income nations and the gap was widening before 2019. Since then, things have gotten worse. New research found that in 2020, life expectancies here dropped disproportionately for marginalized, racialized populations. Especially for Native American and Alaska Native groups
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A committee of experts voted unanimously to recommend that the Food and Drug Administration authorize COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech for children as young as 6-months-old.
