COVID making a comeback, but not in Beaumont

April 24, the COVID-19 transmission rate for the Greater Houston Area was 1.0, which “indicates the virus continues to spread in our community,” according to the Texas Medical Center. Although the rates fluctuate day-to-day due to normal variation in inputs, the current trajectory of the data shows an increase over the week prior. Increases in hospital admission was also noted by the metropolitan provider that also takes patients from Southeast Texas, with an average of 59 new COVID-19 patients admitted a day in TMC hospital institutions. Last week, on average, TMC admitted 42 new patients per day.

As areas nationwide are reporting an uptick in COVID transmission, a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating various additional COVID-19 booster shots has begun enrolling adult participants in the United States. The trial aims to understand if different vaccine regimens – prototype and variant vaccines alone and in combinations – can broaden immune responses in adults who have already received a primary vaccination series and a first booster shot.

The study, known as the COVID-19 Variant Immunologic Landscape (COVAIL) trial, is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Baylor College of Medicine has received funding support as an agreement under NIH contract number 75N91019D00024 to Leidos Biomedical Research in Frederick, Md.

Adults interested in joining this study should visit clinicaltrials.gov and search identifier NCT05289037 for a list of sites and contacts. Those interested in participating at the Baylor College of Medicine Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit should email COVID-VAX@bcm.edu or call (713) 798-4912.

In Beaumont, COVID case numbers are reported as relatively stale. Over the weekend of April 23-24, just six new cases were reported. Of the 28,176 COVID cases reported throughout the greater Beaumont area COVID tracking data set, 67 are still in isolation, 348 have died and more than 27,000 have recovered.

Jefferson County reports that more than 140,000 residents, approximately 61%, of the population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Just over 53% are fully vaccinated, and 20% have received a booster.