Avoyelles gains two COVID cases in Thursday report

After updates on Tuesday and Wednesday that raised fears of a possible revival of the COVID pandemic in Avoyelles, Thursday's report was more like what the parish was enjoying earlier this summer.

There were a total of 291 test results in the Thursday update -- 271 lab tests and 20 rapid result tests. The state removed one positive lab result from the parish's pandemic totals. There were three new cases identified among the rapid result tests.

As of Thursday, Avoyelles' pandemic totals were 4,375 cases and 125 deaths related to the disease since March 2020. The state's totals were 486,589 cases and 10,771 deaths.

On the national level, it was reported that the Delta variant of COVID-19 is the dominant strain throughout the nation. The good news is, the approved vaccines currently in use to protect against COVID-19 appear to be just as effective against Delta. The bad news is that rural areas with low vaccination rates -- usually defined as near or below 30 percent of the total population -- are experiencing spikes in new cases and virus-related deaths.

The state updated the vaccination data for the parish in Thursday's report. Avoyelles now has 28.37 percent of its residents fully vaccinated against the virus and 31.2 percent with at least one dose of vaccine. The state reported there are 1,159 Avoyelleans who have received their first shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, but have not received the second of the two-shot treatment. Health care officials note that even one dose of the vaccine provides protection against developing severe complications from the virus, but may not prevent infection entirely.

As if news that the Delta variant has been identified in the state is not bad enough, this week it was reported that the next "bad bug on the block" -- being called "Delta-Plus," is also in the state. The vaccines are effective against contracting this variant. However, experts said studies in other countries where it has been found indicate vaccinated people can be contagious and individuals who have had COVID earlier in the pandemic may not be safe from contracting this stronger, more lethal strain of the virus.