More Nevadans getting vaccinated as COVID-19 delta variant spreads
Maybe the delta variant of COVID-19 that is causing sharp rises in cases in nearly every state is getting more Nevada residents to get the shot.
About 50 people lined up Saturday just before the 11 a.m. opening of a Southern Nevada Health District vaccination site at the Galleria at Sunset mall.
Henderson resident David Lindell was in line with his parents, Thomas and Connie Lindell, both 63. Masks on. Arms about to be at the ready.
“I got the shot back in May when I was in Korea,” David said. “I’ve been after them to get it.”
Thomas agreed he was keeping up with the news of increasing cases and hospitalizations in Nevada and across the nation.
“It’s just time,” the elder Lindell said, noting that he wsn’t afraid of the news.
On Friday, Nevada reported at least 20 fatalities and more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases in a day for the second time this week, as hospitalizations also climbed past the 1,000 mark for the first time in more than five months.
The Henderson site, which operates from 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, is typically idle most days.
“We do about 100 (vaccinations) a day,” said Jamyzia Moorer, a staffer for MedaSource, a contractor hired to help operate the clinic. “This is good to see, a line of people.”
The clinic offers all three vaccines.
“You get to choose which one you want,” she said. “We could do hundreds a day.”
About 50% of shoppers masked
Mall patrons were about half masked as the shopping day began, despite encouragement from Clark County officials to mask up indoors in an effort to slow the transmission of the virus. The county commission recently required employees to be masked in public places.
About 51 percent of Nevada’s population 12 and older — the group that is eligible — is fully vaccinated, behind the national average of 57 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nevadans who delayed getting vaccinated are rolling up their sleeves. The state reported Wednesday that nearly 2.5 percent of eligible unvaccinated Nevadans got their first dose of vaccine this week, a 25 percent increase over the prior week and 45 percent higher than the national average.
Nevada administered nearly 841 first doses per 100,000 people last week, well above the national average of 580.3 first doses per 100,000, according to state data.
Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Marv_in_Vegas on Twitter.
