Updated 12/3/21
The Wyoming Department of Health reported 252 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 on Friday. Wyoming currently has 1,068 active cases.
Hospitals report 120 patients are hospitalized with the virus.
There have been a total of 111,812 cases since the pandemic started. Wyoming's vaccination rate has largely plateaued with almost 43 percent of the state fully vaccinated. 3,964 pediatric doses have been administered.
Since January 2021, there have been 9,647 breakthrough cases out of 63,659 positives in Wyoming.
(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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Greece, where 62 percent of people are fully vaccinated, has started collecting monthly fines from those who refuse the shots. Austria is also taking similar measures.
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South Africa's major cities are seeing a dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant.
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Nationwide there's a worker shortage — you've probably seen in your own town lots of 'Help Wanted' signs. Well, this rings true in southwest Wyoming, where the energy, manual labor, and tourism industries play a unique role. Wyoming Public Radio's Caitlin Tan brings us the story. -
Hiring slowed sharply last month, even as the unemployment rate fell to 4.2%. Data from the Labor Department suggest the economy was losing steam even before the appearance of a new COVID-19 variant.
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Wesleyan University is among a small group of colleges requiring COVID-19 boosters for spring semester. Will other institutions follow?
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Officials in Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota and New York reported their first cases of the variant on Thursday, one day after the first U.S. case was identified in California.
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Among his new steps to fight COVID surges this winter: requiring private health insurers to reimburse people for at-home tests. It also calls for more people to get vaccines and boosters.
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With hospitals in the Mountain West overrun with COVID-19 patients, states are increasingly utilizing monoclonal antibody treatment to ease a seemingly endless public health crisis — one that could worsen with the emergence of the highly contagious omicron variant.
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The individual returned from South Africa on Nov. 22 and had mild symptoms. Cases have been found in more than 20 countries, less than a week after the worrying new variant was first identified.
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More should be known about the transmissibility and severity of the new variant in "days, not necessarily weeks," a senior World Health Organization scientist says.
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The coronavirus outbreak exposed flaws in the global health system but also showed a willingness among countries to work together, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO's director-general, says.
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What's the U.S. doing to watch out for the omicron variant? Here's the work underway and the challenges that experts say may slow down the country's efforts.
