MISSOULA — Missoula County is breaking records every week in new infections and hospitalizations with another 198 cases reported over the weekend.
The Missoula City-County Health Department (MCCHD) reports the average daily new cases per 100,000 people in Missoula is 89.
The highest infection rate throughout the pandemic has been among young adults. Roughly 19% of kids -- ages 0-19 — make up the new infections, which is the same as 20-to-30-year-old young adults in Missoula County.
St. Patrick Hospital is also reporting that 90% of the COVID-19 patients they have been seeing are unvaccinated.
“In particular, it's very hard on older adults. We know that the, you know, the new recommendation is that people over 65 get a booster dose of vaccine because what we're seeing is that...their immunity doesn't last as long and that's a just a normal part of aging is that sometimes the immune system, just doesn't react as well as it did when we were younger.” Missoula County COVID-19 Response Incident Commander.
Health officials add that because the situation is fluid and ever-changing, the best thing to do is get vaccinated.
They want to remind people that the vaccine does not mean you won’t test positive from covid, but it helps minimize hospitalizations and mortality rates.
The Montana COVID-19 tracking website shows there are 1,859 active cases in Missoula County as of Monday To date, a total of 13,918 have been confirmed in the county including 11,930 recoveries and 129 deaths.
Missoula County has 68,317 residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19 representing 64% of the eligible population.
The latest COVID-19 information for Missoula County can be found here.