Thursday, July 1, 2021 | 2 a.m.
Southern Nevada health officials are stressing the importance of getting the COVID-19 shot as cases tick up, but they aren’t recommending new mask mandates for vaccinated people.
“The solution for this problem is really having most people who are still unvaccinated receiving that shot,” said Dr. Fermin Leguen, health officer for the Southern Nevada Health District.
Last week, the World Health Organization urged vaccinated people to wear masks as the highly contagious delta variant becomes more prevalent. Clark County saw its first known case of the delta variant in May.
The Health District will follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, which does not call for vaccinated people to wear face masks, Leguen said.
While disease spread is far below last year’s peaks, test positivity rates are at their highest since mid-May. They have been climbing since social distancing and mask requirements were repealed June 1.
In Clark County, 5.8% of COVID tests performed over the past two weeks have come back positive.
About 49% of adults in Clark County and 52% statewide are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. The national rate is 57%.
“Our … vaccination rate is low compared to the rest of the nation, and that increases our risk for having an increased transmission of COVID in our community,” Leguen said.
In Nevada, vaccine eligibility opened to adults, regardless of age or occupation, in early April.
Leguen said about 95% of local COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths in the last three months have been among unvaccinated people.
State and local officials are leaning into vaccination efforts, with a focus on Clark County. This includes relaunching mobile vaccine clinics and expanding other outreach efforts.
The county will also ramp up testing to better monitor disease spread, Leguen said.
The biggest challenge is convincing younger adults to get vaccinated, Leguen said. Seniors over 65, typically the most vulnerable to severe illness and death, have a higher vaccination rate.
“The pandemic is not over, and we’re well aware of that,” said Clark County Commission Chairwoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick, a member of the Health District board. “We need to remind others who are taking a little bit longer to get vaccinated to understand that their risks (from) not getting vaccinated are higher than the risk of getting vaccinated.”
The appeals come about two weeks after Gov. Steve Sisolak announced the Vax Nevada Days incentive program, joining several states that have launched promotions to get more people inoculated. Nearly 2,000 vaccinated people in Nevada will win raffle prizes ranging from fishing licenses to college scholarships to $1 million in cash.
