COVID-19 cases on the rise among unvaccinated population, DHR says
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The majority of the new positive cases of COVID-19 in the Rio Grande Valley are showing up in unvaccinated people, DHR Health officials say.
Over the last two weeks, DHR doctors say they've seen a triple-digit increase in people testing positive for the virus.
Dr. Marissa Gomez-Martinez, physician executive of DHR Urgent Care, says the positive test results doubled from one week to the next.
"I would say two weeks ago we had about two or five positives in one week," Gomez-Martinez said. "And then we went up to 14."
Gomez-Martinez said while both vaccinated and unvaccinated people are testing positive for the virus, most cases are people who haven't received the shot. Gomez-Martinez says some of those cases involve children.
"One member of the family is getting it, and then it's spreading to the families," Gomez-Martinez said. "Camps are what we've seen— the children going to camps and getting exposed there, bringing it home to unvaccinated people or even a couple of vaccinated people. And travel; we've been seeing a lot of people after travel. They're getting home and not feeling well."
It's for this reason that DHR doctors are encouraging the public to wear masks in public places.
"We have new variants coming out, and we don't know what they can do," Gomez-Martinez said. "And we've already seen some breakthrough cases."
Gomez-Martinez said most positive infections are in people between the ages of nine and 30, adding that unvaccinated patients experience more severe symptoms than those who are vaccinated.
DRH offers vaccinations from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, at the Conference Center.
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