Majority of COVID-19 Cases Reported Monday Are in Comal Residents Under 50

The majority of the 187 new COVID-19 cases reported by Comal County today are in residents under the age of 50.

According to today’s data, 131 of those who tested positive are under 50, including 42 residents under the age of 20.

Overall, 133 of the new cases are confirmed and 54 are probable cases, Comal County Public Information Officer Cary Zayas said in a statement.

The number of active cases now stands at 1,454. Of those, 31 residents are hospitalized. Another 110 COVID-19 recoveries were reported, for a total of 13,080. Some 14,888 cases have been reported since March 2020.

The total number of deceased remains 354.

County hospitals are caring for 88 COVID-19 patients. Of those, 22 are in intensive care, and 13 are on ventilators.

Approximately 91% of these patients are unvaccinated.

Not all patients in Comal County hospitals are necessarily county residents. Not all county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 are in Comal County hospitals.

The seven-day molecular positivity rate for Monday is 17.6%, and the seven-day antigen positivity rate is 11.64%. The TSA P percentage is 20.89%.

Location Breakdown of New Cases

• New Braunfels – 105
• North of Canyon Lake – 18
• South of Canyon Lake – 23
• South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 7
• Bulverde/Spring Branch – 32
• Fair Oaks – 2

Age Range of New Cases

• Under 20 – 42 (includes two infants under 12 months of age)
• 20s – 25
• 30’s/40’s – 64
• 50s/60s – 41
• 70 and older – 15

Testing Information

As of Monday morning, Public Health reports

• 139,832 tests conducted
• 8,336 confirmed cases
• 6,528 probable cases
• 24 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 14,888 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 10,339
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 2,214
• South of Canyon Lake – 958
• North of Canyon Lake – 796
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 513
• Fair Oaks Ranch – 68

Vaccinations

Comal County’s Public Health Department is now administering Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to those 18 years and older and Pfizer vaccines for anyone 12 years and older.

The Pfizer vaccine is now fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Anyone who hasn’t received the Moderna vaccine can ask to receive the Pfizer shot.

“Based on the longer-term follow-up data that we submitted, today’s decision by the FDA affirms the efficacy and safety profile of our vaccine at a time when it is urgently needed,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer, said in a statement released today. “About 60 percent of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated, and infection, hospitalization and death rates continue to rise rapidly among unvaccinated populations across the country. I am hopeful this approval will help increase confidence in our vaccine, as vaccination remains the best tool we have to help protect lives and achieve herd immunity.”

“Today’s full approval by the FDA underlines the vaccine’s high efficacy and favorable safety profile,” said Ugur Sahin, M.D., CEO and Co-founder of BioNTech. “Our companies have shipped more than one billion doses worldwide, and we will continue to work tirelessly to broaden the access to our vaccine and to be prepared for potential emerging escape variants.”

Probable Cases

“Probable case” is a category established by the Texas Department of State Health Services to describe those who do not have a positive PCR test for COVID-19 but meet two of the three criteria:

• Meets clinical criteria and epidemiologic linkage with no confirmatory laboratory testing performed for SARS-CoV-2.
• Meets presumptive laboratory evidence, which is the detection of SARS-CoV-2 by antigen test in a respiratory specimen.
• Meets vital records criteria with no confirmatory laboratory evidence for SARS-CoV-2.

A probable case is treated identically to a confirmed case and counts toward the county’s positivity rate and total case tally.

Suspected Cases

A ‘suspect’ case meets supportive laboratory evidence with no prior history of being a confirmed or probable case. It is also counted toward the total case tally. Supportive laboratory evidence means:

• • Detection of a specific antibody in serum, plasma, or whole blood.
  • Detection of specific antigen by immunocytochemistry in an autopsy specimen.