Vaccinated population doubles in county

In the last week, the number of people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Gonzales County has more than doubled.

Department of State Health Services data shows that 1,036 people have received at least the first dose of the two-shot Moderna vaccine, with 289 receiving their second dose, as of Thursday, Feb. 4. A week before, only 99 had been fully vaccinated.

Additionally, the county held a vaccination clinic using 400 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine Feb. 4. These counts are not expected to be immediately reflected in DSHS data.

The estimated population of frontline and vulnerable individuals, which had previously come in at 552 people, has dropped to 489. The Inquirer has reached out to the DSHS to determine what caused this change.

There were 192 active cases of COVID-19 in the county as of Thursday, Feb. 4, with 2,140 recovered and 40 deaths reported, according to daily reports shared by Gonzales County Judge Patrick C. Davis. Between Thursday, Jan. 28 and Thursday, Feb. 4, 137 new cases were reported. This brings the total number of reported cases in the county to 2,372.

Hospitalizations in Trauma Service Area P, which includes Gonzales County have not risen or fallen by very much over the course of the last week. Lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 made up 18.19% of total hospital capacity as of Wednesday, Feb. 3. While this is a reduction from a week ago, when hospitalizations were up to 21.92% on Wednesday, Jan. 27, this marks the fifth week of high hospitalizations, mandating bar closures and the reduction of operation capacity to 50% for most retail businesses and restaurants under Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Executive Order GA-32.

As of Wednesday, Feb. 3, there were 13 active cases of COVID-19 reported in Gonzales Independent School District, one in Nixon-Smiley Consolidated Independent School District, and three in Waelder Independent School District.