Cibola braces for another wave
COVID-19 is on the rise once again in Cibola County. As of publication, Cibola County has more active COVID-19 cases than it had in the middle of March, when Omicron was beginning to fade from the county.
Vaccination rates against COVID-19 are on the rise, along with deaths.
Cibola is not alone against this new growth in cases, across the world, COVID-19 is on the rise. Social distancing, wearing masks, and receiving a vaccine are the best tools available to members of the community to prevent further infection which can be deadly.
On the Rise
Omicron began to fade in the third week of March, where Cibola had a total of 6,936 COVID-19 cases; Cibola had 335 active cases. The last week of April recorded 7,080 total COVID-19 cases, with 308 active cases.
As if waiting for a chance to jump and reinfect the people of Cibola, the first week of May has Cibola with a total of 7,137 total cases and 344 active cases. That is 36 new ongoing cases of COVID-19 over the course of one week, this number is without a doubt undercounted as home COVID-19 test kits do not typically get reported to the State of New Mexico.
As March saw the tail end of the Omicron wave, the month had the lowest death count so far this year. March saw only four Cibola residents die from COVID-19; in April, five Cibola residents died from COVID-19. For comparison, 10 residents died from the disease in January and eight died in February.
123 people recovered from COVID-19 in April, at the beginning of the month this recovery rate was outpacing the infection rate, that is no longer the case. As April came to an end, COVID-19 infections began to outpace recoveries.
COVID-19 by Age in April
April saw a shakeup in the age groups catching COVID-19. As the disease began, the 20-29 and 30-39-year-old groups led the intital growth of COVID-19 infections. As students returned to inperson education, the age groups 0-9 and 10-19 have been leading the growth.
In April, however, the age group with the most COVID-19 infections is the 40-49-year-old group.
0-9
Young children saw an increase of nine new COVID-19 infections over the month of April. This is the fourth lowest increase for the month, and the first time since December this age group has not seen a massive increase in cases.
10-19
School aged children aged 10-19 saw the second highest increase of COVID-19 cases in April. This age group added 17 new cases through the month.
20-29
Adding 14 new cases to the county’s total number, the 20-29-year-old age group has seen their monthly growth numbers fall relatively stagnant, ending April with one less new case than in March.
30-39
With the third highest increase in COVID-19 cases through April, the 30-39-year-old group added 15 new cases. April’s case count for this age group is much higher than it was for the month of March.
40-49
With the highest increase of COVID-19 cases in Cibola County, the 40-49-year-old age group added 18 new cases in April.
50-59
Adding 13 new cases through the month of April, the 50-59-year-old age group saw a moderate rise in cases.
60-69
Much like their slightly younger neighbors, the 60-69-year-old age group added 13 cases in April.
70-79
Coming in with the third lowest increase over the month of April, the 70-79-year-old age group only increased Cibola’s total count of COVID-19 cases by 6.
80-89
The 80-89 age group did not add any new COVID-19 cases in the month of April. This is the only age group to not add a single case of COVID-19.
90+
The 90+ age group only added one COVID-19 case in the month of April.
Vaccination Rates
The State of New Mexico changes their statistics often, but they do not declare to the public when these statistics are changed. This happens most often with the vaccination numbers.
In the final week of April, the state Department of Health reported that 19,397 people in Cibola County had received at least one COVID-19 vaccination. However, on May 2, the DOH reported only 19,345 people with at least one shot.
One Shot
With the information available from the DOH, 54 Cibola residents received at least one COVID-19 shot in the month of April.
The month started with 19,291 people with only one shot. The month ended with 19,397 people vaccinated, that number was not accurate, as the state changed the data.
The Cibola Citizen has long contested the vaccination rate numbers in Cibola County due to the severe population undercount the department has for Cibola.
Fully Vaccinated
126 Cibola residents were fully vaccinated through the month of April. The state did not alter any of the data in the fully vaccinated column. April proved to be a strong month for COVID-19 vaccinations, after two months of weak growth. In February, despite the fatal Omicron wave, only 74 residents became fully vaccinated. In March, only 55 residents became fully vaccinated. April almost had the full amount of both February and March’s vaccination growth.