Following is the Saline County Health Department COVID-19 review for December 2021.
During the month of December, 939 cases of COVID-19 were reported to the Saline County Health Department. Of those cases, 789 were unvaccinated, accounting for 84 percent of the total cases.
During the month of December, 17 residents of Saline County lost their lives to COVID-19. In the same month, Salina Regional Health Center reported 16 in-hospital deaths due to COVID-19.
In a hospital setting, the process of determining a person's cause of death is fairly simple. Outside of the hospital, the Saline County Health Officer and County Coroner use all the facts available to determine if a death is due to COVID. The deceased whose deaths are due to accidents or other issues unrelated to COVID may be tracked as positive cases for the purpose of contact tracing, but not included in death totals. Data continues to suggest that those who are fully vaccinated have a lower chance of hospitalization and/or death from COVID.
The Salina Regional Health Center reports all in-hospital deaths due to COVID, including those of people who lived outside of Saline County at the time of their death. While non-resident deaths are not reflected in the information released from the Saline County Health Department, it is important to note, resources at the hospital are impacted by every patient.
According to the Salina Regional Health Center, 87 people were admitted to the hospital for symptoms related to COVID-19. Of these, 66 patients were unvaccinated.
Since mid-July, the hospital has had 349 new admissions; approximately 77% of those were unvaccinated. There were also 63 hospital deaths, of which approximately 76% were unvaccinated.
Nationwide, approximately 80% of hospitalizations and deaths have been in unvaccinated individuals since vaccines were widely available.
This information does not include people who were transported to other hospitals due to bed or staff shortages at Salina Regional Health Center. Typically, juvenile cases of COVID are referred to Children's Mercy in Kansas City, or other children's hospitals.