COVID 19 cases continue to increase in Bowie County and the Texarkana region. Hospitalizations due to COVID remain high, and available resources to care for COVID patients are still critically low. While local officials continue to monitor case counts, and stay updated on CDC guidelines, individuals are encouraged to follow the advice of their primary care physician and stay current on recommendations from the CDC for ways to stay healthy: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
Free COVID-19 testing will return to the Texarkana-Bowie County Family Health Center this Friday, August 27, 2021 from 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Walk-ins are accepted, or individuals can preregister at http://www.allamericantesting.com. For more information, call (214) 556-8088.
“It is imperative, now more than ever, that the residents of Bowie County and the Texarkana region seek out a COVID vaccine,” Local Health Authority Dr. Matt Young said. “We are seeing sick patients come through the clinic and emergency rooms at an alarming rate, and most of them are unvaccinated. This new Delta variant is moving quickly through our area and affecting younger populations more acutely. Now is the time to remain vigilant and keep fighting this disease.”
According to the Texas DSHS website, only 31.31% of individuals over the age of 12 in Bowie County are fully vaccinated, but 38.51% have received at least one dose. That number has improved significantly over the last month. However, compared to the state of Texas, Bowie County is still significantly behind the overall 55.72% of all Texans over the age of 12 who are fully vaccinated.
CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System will provide free, single-dose COVID-19 vaccinations to anyone age 18 or older via the Spirit of St. Michael Mobile Unit staff. The Spirit of St. Michael staff can schedule visits to businesses/industry sites and can also provide home visits for those unable to travel. For additional information, or to schedule a site visit, contact the Spirit of St. Michael at 903-748-8573 for information or any questions.
Locally, Texas DSHS reports a total of 5,980 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, and 3,430 probable cases with 236 deaths. The Department of State Health Services is reporting 883 active cases currently in Bowie County, which is 748 more positive cases than were actively being monitored at the end of July when the EOC last sent an update.
Local COVID-19 data regarding infection rates can be found at https://txdshs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/ed483ecd702b4298ab01e8b9cafc8b83 and vaccination rates can be found at https://tabexternal.dshs.texas.gov/t/THD/views/COVID-19VaccineinTexasDashboard/Summary?%3Aorigin=card_share_link&%3Aembed=y&%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y. To locate a vaccine site nearby, visit https://www.vaccines.gov/.
