January 2021 is Most Infectious COVID-19 Month in Maverick County
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2021
Maverick County and its county seat, Eagle Pass, have just experienced its most infectious COVID-19 month during January 2021 with a total of 3,072 new confirmed positive cases, according to the Maverick County Emergency Operation Center.
Maverick County also reported the third highest number of fatalities related to COVID-19 during January 2021 with a total of 31, while August 2020 is first with 54 fatalities and July 2020 is second with 36 fatalities, according to Maverick County Emergency Operation Center.
The month of January 2021 saw the total number of COVID-19 new confirmed positive cases skyrocket from 6,437 in December 2020 to 9,509 in January.
Maverick County public health officials attribute the significant increase in COVID-19 infections during January 2021 to holiday gatherings from Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. Despite local public officials warnings to Maverick County residents to avoid holiday gatherings, particularly family ones, local residents failed to follow the warnings and many of them held holiday gatherings among family members, often without wearing face masks and not practicing social distancing of six feet or more.
Another factor attributed to the exponential growth of COVID-19 cases in Maverick County during January 2021 was local residents traveling outside of the community throughout the holidays. A survey by AdvisorSmith found that Maverick County residents traveled the most among all mid-sized counties in the United States during the Thanksgiving holiday. The AdvisorSmith survey found that Maverick County residents took 10.6 long-distance trips of 100 miles or greater per 100 residents, that is 10.6 percent, compared to the national average of 4.7 trips.
Maverick County earned the distinction of being the No. 2 metropolitan area in the United States with the highest number of new confirmed COVID-19 infections based on population size during the month of January 2021, with only Webb County (Laredo, Texas) being ranked No. 1.
Maverick County public health officials urge all residents to follow the CDC Guidelines of wearing a face mask, wash hands with soap regularly, practice social distancing of at six feet or greater, use hand sanitizer regularly, avoid unnecessary travel, avoid gatherings, and to stay home. CDC recommends people to not gather with people outside of one’s own household family and to limit travel to only essential matters. CDC also recommends for everyone to get vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine.
The Maverick County Emergency Operation Center has begun inoculating local residents with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and have now administered a total of 5,252 first doses as of February 4, 2021 and will be scheduling second doses next week upon receipt of the vaccines. EOC will notify all first dose vaccine recipients when they will commence administering the second dose through local news media outlets and social media.
Currently, there are over 13,000 people registered with the Maverick County Emergency Operation Center waiting list to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Supply of the COVID-19 vaccine in Maverick County as well as in the United States is less than the demand for it. Pharmaceutical firms are churning production of the vaccine to be able to meet the demand.
Texas State Representative Heriberto “Eddie” Morales, Jr. of Eagle Pass wrote a letter to Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner Dr. John William Hellerstedt on January 28, 2021 to express concerns from his border constituents that non-United States citizens and residents from Mexico are registering and receiving COVID-19 vaccines before United States citizens and residents. Morales requested Dr. Hellerstedt for the Texas Department of State Health Services “consider and implement a policy that places U.S. citizens and residents first in line in the administration of these vaccines, especially when you consider the limited amount of vaccines currently being allocated to each county.”
