Monday Aug. 9 COVID-19 update: Douglas County adds transmission risk indicator, now set at ‘high’

(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.

Lincoln-Lancaster County update

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department on Monday reported three COVID-19 deaths: a woman in her 60s, a woman in her 70s, and a man in his 90s have died, bringing the community’s death toll to 247.

The health department also reported Monday that it had confirmed 54 new positive cases on Saturday, 33 on Sunday, and another 75 on Monday, bringing the local case total to 32,926 positives since the start of the pandemic.

Currently, Lancaster County hospitals have 68 patients with COVID-19, nine of whom are on ventilators.

To date, the local population ages 16 and older is 68.7% fully vaccinated.

Douglas County transmission risk

The Douglas County Health Department has added a transmission risk bar to its website, indicating on Monday that the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the area is currently high.

“We believe this is a more accurate measure of the risk at any given time,” according to the DCHD release.

DCHD says on its website that the county’s risk level is determined by two CDC indicators:

1. The number of new cases per 100,000 people in the past week.
2. The percentage of positive PCR tests during the past week.

Should each indicator suggest different levels, DCHD says it will choose the higher threshold.

Douglas County Health Director Dr. Lindsay Huse continues to encourage local residents to get vaccinated.

“We are returning to case levels we haven’t seen in months,” Dr. Lindsay Huse said. “Please help us end this surge and continue our return to normal by getting the COVID-19 vaccine.”

Douglas County cases update

DCHD reported Monday that a man in his 80s had died, bringing the local COVID-19 death toll to 741.

The health department also reported Monday that it had confirmed an additional 248 additional positive cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing the local total to 74,548 cases.

The seven-day rolling average increased to 121 cases, more than doubling the average from two weeks ago.

The health department also reported Monday that COVID-19 hospitalizations had increased by 20 patients since Friday’s report. Local hospitals were 79% full, with 313 beds available; and adult ICU beds were 78% full with 73 beds available. Of those, 97 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19, with 30 of them in ICUs, and 16 on ventilators. An additional six patients are being monitored for COVID-19 symptoms.

Group of Nebraska doctors urges schools to require masks

(AP) - A group of Nebraska doctors who are also moms is urging schools to consider requiring masks this fall as the number of virus cases surges across the state.

Dr. Christine Mitchell, an Omaha-area internal medicine specialist who is involved in the effort, said policies need to change with the pandemic to help keep schools open. Nebraska virus cases have been increasing for six straight weeks as the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread.

Over the past two weeks, the seven-day rolling average of daily new cases has more than doubled in Nebraska to 374.14 new cases per day.

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 are scheduled at several local schools and events this week:

MONDAY

• 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Omaha Public Schools Teacher Administration Center, located at 3215 Cuming St.

Omaha Public Schools

Omaha Public Schools shared a flyer — written in Spanish and English — to get the word out about its upcoming vaccine clinics. The clinics are scheduled for this week at some Omaha-metro schools.

TUESDAY

• 2-8 p.m. at Norris Middle School, located at 2235 S. 46th St. in Omaha
• 4-7:30 p.m. at Beveridge Middle School, located at 1616 S. 120th St. in Omaha

WEDNESDAY

• 10 a.m-2 p.m. at Norris Middle School, located at 2235 S. 46th St. in Omaha
• 5-7 p.m. at Marrs Middle School, located at 5619 S. 19th St. in Omaha

Nebraska Medicine

Nebraska Medicine is offering COVID-19 vaccinations at clinics in several retail pharmacies and health centers around the Omaha-metro.

NebMed will provide Pfizer vaccinations by appointment at:

• Eagle Run Health Center, located at 132nd Street and West Maple Road
• Fontenelle Health Center, located at 50th Street and Ames Avenue
• Girls Inc. Health Center, located at 45th Street and West Maple Road
• Old Market Health Center, located at 13th and Leavenworth streets
• Village Pointe Health Center, located at 175th and Burke streets

For those looking for walk-in appointments, single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccinations will be available at these pharmacies:

• Outpatient Pharmacy at Bellevue Health Center, located at 25th Street and Highway 370, will offer J&J vaccinations from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.
• Outpatient Pharmacy at Durham Outpatient Center, located at 45th and Emile streets, will offer J&J vaccinations from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays; and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the weekends.

Children’s Hospital

• Tuesday and Thursday appointments available at the Mission Village location, 16909 Q St. Call 402-955-7575 or 402-955-SHOT (7468) for available times.
• Thursday and Friday appointments available at the Dundee location, 4825 Dodge St. Call 402-955-7676 or 402-955-SHOT (7468) for available times.

Around Omaha

SOUTH OMAHA: Testing and vaccinations available at OneWorld, located at 4920 S. 30th St. Call 402-734-4110 to make an appointment for vaccinating anyone age 12 and older.

CHARLES DREW HEALTH CENTER: Call 402-451-3553 to schedule an appointment.

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.

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 is 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

CHI HEALTH VACCINE INFORMATION: The info line is available at 402-717-1255 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily in August.

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.

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.

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.

Resource links

Where to get a test: Douglas County

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

Vaccinations at hospitals: Nebraska Medicine | Methodist Hospital | Children’s Hospital

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

Vaccine dashboard: Nebraska | Iowa

Vaccine information: Douglas County | Douglas County clinics | Nebraska || Iowa | Pottawattamie County | Mills County | Fremont County

COVID-19 dashboards: Douglas County | Sarpy County | Three Rivers Health District | Lancaster County | 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: Lincoln-Lancaster County

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

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