||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS |||
A San Juan County resident has recently died, and the cause of death has been attributed to COVID-19. This was an unvaccinated islander who recently contracted COVID, was hospitalized and unfortunately passed away due to the illness.
This is the first recorded COVID-19 death in San Juan County. We are all saddened by this news and share our condolences with the family.
We know that this news may raise some additional questions, however, to protect patient privacy, we are unable to release any further details.
Islanders, please continue to take steps to avoid contracting and spreading COVID-19. Steps include wearing appropriate face coverings (KN95, N95 masks) indoors; physical distancing and avoiding large indoor gatherings.
If you are unvaccinated, please consider getting vaccinated as soon as possible. San Juan County Health Officer Dr. Frank James states “Getting vaccinated not only protects the person being vaccinated but also those at high risk of severe disease: those over 65 or under 5 years of age, the immune compromised and the unvaccinated. Vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent severe disease including hospitalization and death. It is never too late to vaccinate.”
Vaccinations remain a critical tool in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective and greatly reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Recent reports show that unvaccinated 65+ year-olds are 15 times more likely to die of COVID-19 compared with fully vaccinated 65+ year-olds.
San Juan County will be having mass clinics January 21-23 and there are still appointments available. SIGN UP FOR AN APPOINTMENT HERE. First and second doses available for everyone ages 5+ and boosters available for everyone eligible ages 12+. Pfizer and Moderna appointments available.
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This announcement confirms rumors that I’d heard earlier this week from a reliable source.
And I just checked the state DoH web site for County hospitalizations, which are now up to 21. That’s 7 more than we had by mid-December 2021, or a third of our total since April 2020 in just the last month.
We should take Omicron seriously and get our vaccinations or boosters if we have not done so yet.
The vaccinated status of our late fellow islander should not be made public knowledge.
Yes please get the Vaccine and boosters
Yes it should, Josh. We have a big problem with people believing that vaccinations don’t help. We need to counter that with facts.
James, would you want the personal medical information of your late loved one broadcasted into the world? Let’s be real; the unvaccinated are fully aware people have died from Covid. One death in SJC is not going to make them change their minds in regards to getting vaccinated.
Just in time to count SJC’s first covid death — Feb 2 the Biden administration will stop collecting covid death counts from hospitals. Will SJC and the state keep counting?
The County did not provide the name or even island of the deceased, so it’s not “broadcasting personal medical information.” But some people already know this information and are circulating it on social media. Don’t blame the County DoH for letting us know that Covid deaths can occur here, too — especially if certain individuals stubbornly refuse to get vaccinated.
Based on some comments above, it’s obvious that there is a lack of understanding what is personal medical information. The word ‘personal’ is the key to this understanding. The information in this SJC Communications article is purely statistical, as it does not contain any person’s name.
Unfortunately, this death is a statistic related to the unvaccinated, who are hospitalized and die at much higher rates than those who are vaccinated. BTW, those who are vaccinated and contact Covid are included in a different statistic, sometimes called ‘breakthrough cases’. When these cases happen, they are associated with extremely low rates of hospitalization or death. Draw your own conclusion.
And it is disengenuous to state the following ‘Let’s be real; the unvaccinated are fully aware people have died from Covid. One death in SJC is not going to make them change their minds in regards to getting vaccinated.’ as if it were an undisputed fact. If this article convinces even one unvaccinated person to get vaccinated, that is a good reason to accumulate and publish these statistics.
Terry;
When you have lived in the islands long enough, you will realize that you know a significant portion of your islands community members while also being known by a significant portion of your islands community. With this fact comes the reality that this late islanders personal medical information is not secure regardless to which island they live on. In a community with such a fluid transfer of information between community members, SJC should know better than to publish this briefing as such. This is PRIVATE information that is no longer PRIVATE.
You can shame people for not getting vaccinated, but you cannot force them to do so. All you achieve with your harsh stance is a fractured community and Country.
I am sure you have made judgements about my personal vaccination status, and I fear your conclusion would be incorrect.
From today’s SJC Covid report: ” To date in 2022, all hospitalizations are in un-vaccinated individuals”.
What more needs be said?
Wait; doesn’t that mean the unvaccinated are only getting other unvaccinated individuals sick, not the vaccinated as well?
What’s the big fuss then? We the vaccinated are safe, while these unvaccinated adults are fully capable of understanding the inherent risks of life, and are moving forward accordingly. Let’s move it along with all the shaming before it gets out of hand.
Not all unvaccinated people are voluntarily unvaccinated. You know that.
Another important reason that this late individual’s vaccination status should not have been made public information Anne! Thank you.
I have no idea who this unfortunate person is who died.
I feel sad for them, for their family, and their friends.
I understand that there are people who cannot get vaccinated.
I wish the politicalization and misinformation about vaccinations did not exist.
Not too sure how that follows…We do need to know whether people are vaxxed or not when they die of covid, to determine whether vaccination is efficacious or not, and to let the public know about this efficacy or lack, so we can make good choices. (I m out of the loop as to who died, and intend to stay that way.) Whether they were vaccinated or not is significant to me; whether it was their choice or not, not so much. Although I have to admit, I feel more compassion for the babies and the immunocompromised than I can summon up for my dad’s unvaxxed, unmasked widow in Oklahoma who has had the “stomach flu” (self diagnosis, no trip to the doctor, of course) for the last 2-1/2 months.
“We offer our condolences to the family of the deceased.”
– Not said by SJC
Re Josh Culp comment 1/23: please re-read the 2nd paragraph of the SJC statement:
“This is the first recorded COVID-19 death in San Juan County. We are all saddened by this news and share our condolences with the family. “
The U.S. has a lower vaccination rate than all countries surveyed except Russia:
https://morningconsult.com/global-vaccine-tracking/
Sad. The misinformation has resulted in so many unnecessary deaths, severe illness, and lingering illness (long covid).
Did the person who died recently really die of COVID or did he or she have cancer and die with COVID? Hospitals test every patient that comes into the hospital and even if they are there for a car accident, lung cancer or gun shot wound, if they test positive for COVID they are marked as a COVID death. Just wanting the truth here as we all should and to be respectful to our fellow citizens.