Tuesday June 8 COVID-19 update: 1 of 2 latest Douglas County deaths in their 20s

(WOWT) - Below are today’s vaccination updates as well as data reports on new cases and other COVID-19 stats reported by health officials across Nebraska and Iowa.

Keep scrolling to find helpful links and other information, including phone numbers to call for help getting signed up for your vaccine.

Douglas County update

Douglas County Health Department reported Tuesday that two unvaccinated men — one in his 20s, one in his 70s — died over the weekend, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 728.

DCHD said 15 new cases had been confirmed since its last report Monday, bringing the local total of positive cases to 71,942. The department said 67,638 county residents have recovered from the COVID-19 to date.

The health department also reported that local hospitals are 75% full, with 368 beds available; ICU beds are 69% full with 106 beds available. Of those patients, 31 are hospitalized with COVID-19, nine of them receiving ICU care and on ventilators. Additionally, seven patients are being monitored for COVID-19.

Douglas County Board of Health updates

At Tuesday morning’s Board of Health meeting, Douglas County Health Director Dr. Adi Pour gave pandemic-related updates on student vaccinations, pop-up clinics, and long-term care facilities.

Maximizing opportunities at school activities

Even though it’s summer break, schools are still focusing on student vaccinations.

Dr. Pour said teachers don’t want their classes to be interrupted again by the effect of COVID-19, so the health department plans to continue working with school districts to vaccinate as many eligible students as possible through the summer months, mostly through pop-up clinics in the Millard school district.

Those clinics — planned at athletic events, fall orientation, and other events that generally draw crowds — will be available to anyone, Dr. Pour said.

“So that when parents go to these events, and their child has not been vaccinated but is eligible, they have a chance to do it right then and there,” she said. “Every shot is really helping us live a less disruptive life.”

Other pop-up clinics

Health officials in Douglas County say one of the most effective ways to get vaccines to people is through pop-up clinics.

DCHD had a successful clinic at Benson Days over the weekend, Dr. Pour said, and is planning to continue that momentum with pop-up clinics at the zoo, churches, a barbershop, and a Cinco de Mayo celebration. The health department is also looking to add a pop-up clinic at the farmers’ markets in the area.

“So anything and everywhere we can go, we need to be able to do it at this time,” Dr. Pour said. “We have five vans at the health department, and three tents so our nurses can do out and do vaccinations.”

President Biden has set a goal of having 70% of the U.S. adult population vaccinated with at least one dose by July 4. Dr. Pour said Tuesday that Douglas County is sitting at about 64%.

Long-term care facilities

At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, long-term care facilities were hit hard. 6 News reported on several such outbreaks around the Omaha-metro, and in some cases, the residents died from the effects of the virus.

But on Tuesday, Dr. Pour shared some positive news about the state of those facilities now.

“Within the last week, for the first time, there are no residents that tested positive for COVID-19 in all long-term care facilities for an entire week,” she said.

Dr. Pour did note, however, that three staff members from local long-term care facilities had tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week.

Still, she said, the benchmark should be celebrated and shows the vaccine is working.

On Omaha’s big events

Dr. Pour also said she was pleased with the testing protocols happening with the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials, which are underway in two phases this month.

She said the health department is also working closely with College World Series organizers to establish a good collaboration ahead of the tournament.

Douglas County board hears case, vaccination reports

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Dr. Pour provided an update on the county’s cases and vaccinations.

COVID-19 case update

The county is currently reporting about 13 new cases on average per day, Dr. Pour said.

“That’s a really good trend,” Dr. Pour said.

The local case average is about 2.3 new cases per 100,000 people, which is below the U.S. average of four per 100,000; and that Nebraska is the third best state in the U.S. in terms of new cases per capita.

More than a million tests have been performed in the county: 1,048,575 to be exact. The county has seen a decrease in positives for eight weeks in a row, she said. This week was 29% lower than last week, and 59% less than the amount reported two weeks ago.

For five days in a row, local hospitals have reported less than 30 COVID-19 patients; as of Tuesday, 25 were hospitalized with COVID-19, she said. Eight were in ICUs, and three were on ventilators.

As of Tuesday morning, the health department had confirmed 726 COVID-19 deaths in the county. Of those, Dr. Pour said, three were fully vaccinated but were also age 60 and older with serious underlying conditions.

COVID-19 vaccination update

To date, 590,550 COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered in Douglas County; 514,103 were given to county residents, Dr. Pour said. Of those, 281,129 people — 50.7% of the total population — have had at least one dose; 250,653 — or 45.2% of the population — are considered fully vaccinated.

Dr. Pour said there are still hurdles in local minority communities.

While 50% of all eligible white residents are vaccinated, only 30.5% of eligible Black county residents have been vaccinated. That’s also lower than other population groups in the area: 41.8% of eligible Native Americans have been vaccinated; 51.9% of eligible Asians are vaccinated; and 38.4% of the eligible Hispanic population has been vaccinated.

Other comments

Dr. Pour said she is still encouraging those who are not vaccinated — or who are immunocompromised — to wear masks.

She said Nebraska hasn’t reported any cases of the India variant reported at this time, but noted that the vaccine is still working against it and all known variants.

Meanwhile, UNMC has a clinic set up for any COVID-19 long-haulers so that groups and physicians are able to further study the virus and its effects.

Vaccination clinics

Nebraska DHHS

Federal Retail Pharmacy Program: Pharmacies in and near the Omaha-metro area currently participating in the program include:

• Medicine Man Pharmacy, 15615 Pacific St. Suite 8, Omaha NE 668118
• Think Aksarben Pharmacy LLC, 710 W. Center Road, Omaha NE 68106
• ViaRx, 825 N. 90th St., Omaha NE 68114
• Walmart, 3010 E. 23rd St., Fremont NE 68025

Retail pharmacy vaccine sign-ups: Baker’s | CVS | Hy-Vee | Kohll’s | Kubat | Sam’s Club | Walmart

Douglas County

Douglas County COVID-19 vaccination clinics for eligible residents — including youth ages 12 and older — are offered walk-in or by appointment at the following locations:

• CHI Immanuel Medical Center, located at 72nd Street and Sorensen Parkway.
• Methodist Health System, 720 N. 114th St.
• Nebraska Medicine Testing & Vaccination Clinic, located at 144th Street and Millard Avenue.
• Creighton University’s Rasmussen Center, located at 702 N. 17th St.
• Douglas County Health Department vaccination site – South Omaha, 3505 L St. (former Hy-Vee location). The site replaces the clinic formerly available at the Kroc Center. This location has been designated as a site for youth vaccinations. (Minors who wish to be vaccinated must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian in order to obtain the shot.

This week’s clinics

DCHD is planning the following vaccination clinics this week, some with specific doses as indicated:

Tuesday: All COVID-19 vaccines will be available at the DCHD walk-in clinic, located at 3505 L St., from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Get a Pfizer vaccination at Trinity Lutheran Church from 4-7 p.m.

Wednesday: Get a Johnson & Johnson vaccination at Youngblood’s Barber Shop from 11a.m. to 1 p.m. Get a Pfizer dose at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. All COVID-19 vaccines will be available at the DCHD walk-in clinic, located at 3505 L St., from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Get a Pfizer dose at a drive-through clinic at Salem Baptist Church from 4-7 p.m.

Thursday: All COVID-19 vaccines will be available at the DCHD walk-in clinic, located at 3505 L St., from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Get a Pfizer dose at Pleasant Green Baptist Church from 4-7 p.m.

Friday: All COVID-19 vaccines will be available at the DCHD walk-in clinic from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Get a Johnson & Johnson dose at the Heart Ministry Center from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Saturday: Get a Pfizer dose at Clair Memorial United Methodist Church from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Get a Johnson & Johnson dose at Cinco de Mayo from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Get a Pfizer dose at New Life Presbyterian Church from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

At the library

Four Omaha Public libraries are hosting Douglas County Health Department COVID-19 vaccination clinics in coming weeks. The clinics will provide free Johnson & Johnson vaccination doses to anyone age 18 and older.

• Milton Abrahams Library will host its clinic from 9-11 a.m. Tuesday, June 15.
• Dale Clarke Library will host its clinic from 9-11 a.m. Wednesday, June 16.
• Benson Library will host its clinic from 3-5 p.m. Thursday, June 17.
• Washington Library will host its clinic from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 22.

Around Omaha

DOWNTOWN CLINIC: TotalWellness Health and the Metropolitan Community Church, located at 819 S. 22nd St., are hosting a COVID-19 vaccination clinic from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

CHURCH CLINIC: Metropolitan Community Chuch of Omaha will host a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination clinic from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. No ID is required, but a parent or guardian must be present at the clinic with teens ages 12-18.

DRIVE-THROUGH YOUTH CLINIC: Children’s Hospital is opening a drive-through clinic to get youth ages 12-16 their COVID-19 vaccinations. Those wanting to schedule a vaccination there should call their Children’s Physicians pediatrician; or call 402-955-SHOT. Appointments will be available between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

STOCKYARDS PLAZA WALK-IN CLINIC: COVID-19 vaccinations will be available to walk-ins — no appointment needed — from 3:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at the clinic in the Stockyards Plaza, located at 35th and L streets. Other clinics may also take walk-ins during the week as they’re able.

MCC FORT OMAHA: Vaccinations also will be distributed Mondays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Metropolitan Community College’s Fort Omaha campus, located at 5300 N. 30th St. Appointments will be made through the county’s vaccination registry.

TOTAL WELLNESS: DCHD has been working with Total Wellness, located at 9320 H Court, to establish a vaccination clinic from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

VETERANS: Any eligible veterans can go to the Omaha VA Medical Center’s COVID-19 vaccination clinics’ walk-in hours from 9 a.m. to noon weekdays and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays at the new Ambulatory Care Center.

Three Rivers health district

• In Dodge County, the Three Rivers Fremont location will be open for walk-ins from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; and 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday.
• In Saunders County, the Three Rivers clinic in Lake Wanahoo is open to walk-ins from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of the month.
• In Washington County, the clinic at First Lutheran Church in Blair is open to walk-ins from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month.

Off-line help

NEBRASKA VACCINE HOTLINE: Gov. Pete Ricketts has asked Nebraskans to call 402-552-6645 or toll-free at 833-998-2275 for more information on the Nebraska COVID-19 vaccination process. DO NOT call your local health department.

DOUGLAS COUNTY HELPLINE: Local COVID-19 information, in Spanish and English, is available from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, except for holidays. Call 402-444-3400 for assistance.

TEST NEBRASKA HOTLINE: To get answers about Test Nebraska tests, results, communications, etc., call 402-207-9377.

IOWA VACCINE HOTLINE: Older or home-bound Iowans looking for help scheduling a COVID-19 vaccination appointment can call 1-866-468-7887 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; or contact Connections Area Agency on Aging at 712-328-2540 or 1-800-432-9209.

REFERENCE NOTE -- 6 News pulls data from Nebraska and Iowa COVID-19 dashboards at 6 p.m. daily. Other reports in this post come from official news releases from area health departments and other authorities as stated.

Resource links

Vaccine sign-up: Douglas County | Sarpy/Cass | Three Rivers | Nebraska

Retail pharmacy vaccine sign-ups: Hy-Vee | Walmart | Sam’s Club | Kohll’s

Vaccine dashboard: Nebraska | Iowa

Vaccine information: Douglas County | Douglas County clinics | Nebraska | Nebraska FAQ | Nebraska timeline | Nebraska Phase 1A tiers | Nebraska Phase 1B tiers || Iowa | Pottawattamie County | Mills County | Fremont County

COVID-19 dashboards: Douglas County | Sarpy County | Three Rivers Health District | Lancaster County | Nebraska | Iowa | Worldwide

School dashboards: Omaha Public Schools | Millard Public Schools | Bellevue Public Schools | Westside Community Schools | Gretna Public Schools | Elkhorn Public Schools | Lincoln Public Schools | UNL | Midland University

COVID-19 risk dials: Omaha-Douglas County | Lincoln-Lancaster County

WOWT.com quick search: COVID-19 | Coronavirus | Vaccine

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