Erie County, NY Department of Health » ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PROVIDES COVID-19 DATA UPDATE FOR WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PROVIDES COVID-19 DATA UPDATE FOR WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

Modified: September 28, 2021 5:17pm

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09/28/2021

ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PROVIDES COVID-19 DATA UPDATE FOR WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

ERIE COUNTY, NY – The Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) is providing an update on COVID-19 data. For the week ending September 25, 2021, ECDOH received reports for 1,671 new COVID-19 cases among Erie County residents, a 6% increase from the previous week. Though COVID-19 cases are increasing, the rate of increase has declined for three consecutive weeks.

The COVID-19 case rate of 175 cases per 100,000 residents in the past seven days for the week ending September 25 is an increase from the previous week’s case rate of 165. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) set a case rate threshold of 100 or more cases per 100,000 residents in the past seven days for a community to be considered to have “high transmission.”

28% of new COVID-19 cases last week were among city of Buffalo residents. For reference, city of Buffalo residents make up 29% of all Erie County residents. This past week 16 ZIP codes (compared to 10 ZIP codes the previous week) had seven-day case rates of more than 200 new cases per 100,000 persons. The 14080 (Holland) ZIP code had 25 COVID-19 cases, which is a seven-day case rate of 577 cases per 100,000 residents. The 14001 (Akron) ZIP Code had 41 COVID-19 cases, for a seven-day case rate of 433 cases per 100,000 residents; this was associated with cases among Akron Central School students and several household clusters. Other ZIP codes with notably high rates include 14047 (Derby) with a seven-day case rate of 419 cases per 100,000 residents, and 14219 (Blasdell) with 312 cases per 100,000 residents over seven days. These two ZIP codes had primarily adult COVID-19 cases, with household and family clusters.

Total diagnostic COVID-19 test reports last week increased more than 5,000 over the previous week, for a total of about 43,500 tests. ECDOH and health care providers within Erie County still have substantial diagnostic testing capacity. This represents the most COVID-19 tests reported in one week since May 2021. People who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, regardless of vaccination status, should strongly consider a diagnostic COVID-19 test. This includes p-12 students and school staff who need a diagnostic COVID-19 NAAT test to return to school or work. Free COVID-19 NAAT tests are available through ECDOH by calling 716-858-2929 to schedule an appointment. Appointments are required for COVID-19 testing. Wait times for ECDOH appointment telephone line are longest in the morning. Callers may choose to call after 10 a.m. if they want to avoid a wait. Other test sites are listed through the NYSDOH web site.

Total numbers of COVID-19 cases continue to be highest in the 20-29 and 30-39-year-old age groups. Total numbers of COVID-19 cases declined among the 0-4, 5-10 and 14-17-year-old age groups; however, the number of cases among 11-13-year-olds rose from 47 cases for the week ending September 18 to 84 cases for the week ending September 25, a 79% increase. 

The school team in the ECDOH Office of Epidemiology is managing a significant number of cases among k-12 students and school staff. Data for the week ending September 25 are incomplete* because official test reports are pending, but already the total number of weekly cases in this population is higher than all but a few weeks in the 2020-2021 school year.

With 129 COVID-19 hospitalizations reported in Erie County hospitals on September 26, 2021, the number of patients admitted to Erie County hospitals with COVID-19 has ranged from a low of 111 hospitalizations to a high of 143 hospitalizations over the past two weeks. [See chart at end of release].

ECDOH is reporting COVID-19 mortality data. ECDOH received reports of 12 COVID-19 associated deaths in the past seven days. Of those reported deaths, one person expired in August, and 11 deaths were reported for September. Total COVID-19-related deaths from March 2020 to September 16, 2021 now stand at 2,010, with 734 reported in 2021. Of the 89 reported COVID-19 associated deaths during July 1 through September 23, 2021, 62% (55) of these deaths were among persons who were not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to infection. The average age at death in persons not fully vaccinated was 70 years, and the average age at death for fully vaccinated person was 81 years.

With data compiled by the ECDOH epidemiology office through September 27 and based on 2020 U.S. Census population estimates, 71.7% of Erie County residents ages 18 years and older received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, and 67.4 % of Erie County residents ages 18 years and older completed a vaccine series. For the 16-17-year-old age group, 58.8% received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Additional data, including vaccination estimates by ZIP code, are posted to the ECDOH web site. NYSDOH also updates vaccination data by demographics, by county and by ZIP code.

ECDOH has an active schedule of COVID-19 vaccine clinics, listed at www.erie.gov/vax, and will also vaccinate any eligible Erie County resident at their home. Call (716) 858-2929 for the “Vax Visit” program. ECDOH encourages Erie County residents who are not fully vaccinated to begin their COVID-19 vaccine series. COVID-19 vaccination is especially important for youth and families attending school or child care. Third COVID-19 vaccine doses for people with moderately or severely immunocompromising conditions are available at any Erie County COVID-19 vaccine clinic. ECDOH also offers Pfizer booster vaccine doses for eligible individuals at all clinics that offer Pfizer vaccine. NYSDOH has further information about Pfizer booster doses.

Chart: Erie County Hospitalization Data, last two weeks (September 11-September 26, 2021)

Data Sources: New York State Department of Health and Erie County hospitals

 

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