This summer, after masking and other preventative measures were lifted with the availability of effective vaccines, the number of people sick with COVID-19 in Jackson and Josephine counties has spiked to 1,555 new cases for the week of August 8, nearly triple the highest reported weekly numbers since the beginning of the pandemic.

“This is the most COVID-19 cases reported in a week for Jackson County,” said Tanya Phillips of Jackson County Public Health. “The highest number of cases we had in a week during the fall and winter surge was the week of November 29, with 557 COVID-19 cases.”

In the past two weeks, Jackson County reported 2,209 new COVID-19 cases, indicating a “989.5 cases per 100,000” metric for understanding the scale of the problem. While that percentage still falls below most regions in the US, it has broken precedents locally.

Masks are now required to be worn indoors in the state and many government meetings have moved back to online formats. With no shutdown orders issued at this time, Oregonians brace for another “pause” to slow down the spread of the disease.

Hospitals and their staff, taxed with the surge in new patients, reported 163 patients hospitalized with coronavirus in Josephine and Jackson Counties, including 43 patients in intensive care. According to an August 4 Mail Tribune article,  “people needing brain and heart surgery, and cancer patients are in hospital hallways and waiting rooms as Asante struggles to provide enough beds for them.”

Findings from a report released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier this month confirmed the effectiveness of available vaccines. The study reported that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines reduced the risk of hospitalization by 96 percent. Local practitioners at Asante report that of those hospitalized locally, “More than 90% of the hospitalized people are not vaccinated against the virus.”

But so-called “breakthrough” cases do happen, and the CDC study  did not include data from the pervasive Delta variant strain of COVID-19. According to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), the number of people fully vaccinated in Jackson County but still carrying the virus was 281. And of the 55 COVID-19 associated deaths reported in July, 91 percent were among people who were not fully vaccinated.