MOHAVE COUNTY – COVID-19 has resulted in 672 hospitalizations in Mohave County dating back to the start of the pandemic. That’s roughly 17% of the 3,959 people who’ve tested positive in northwest Arizona.
These are some of the many statistics Department of Public Health Director Denise Burley provided during Thursday’s special Board of Supervisors meeting in Kingman.
Burley told board members that 3,572 people infected in Mohave County have recovered from the coronavirus. 217 deaths have been recorded.
Burley said new coronavirus case counts have averaged 61 people over the last three weeks.
Nursing Services Manager Lynn Valentine said there’s no telling when a coronavirus vaccine will be ready for distribution, though there’s optimism it could happen in coming months. She said several different companies are in third phase development as they push for FDA approval.
Valentine said health care industry professionals and first responders will have first priority when the vaccine begins to be administered. Those vulnerable to the disease due to health conditions, age and nursing home confinement will be secondary recipients, ahead of the general public.
Valentine said the government has opened an application and enrollment process for doctors, clinics and health care providers to be approved to administer COVID-19 vaccine. She said some 400 applications have been submitted across the state of Arizona, 16 of them in Mohave County.
Mohave County acknowledges the Columbus Day holiday, so supervisors agreed to move next Monday’s COVID-19 management meeting to Tuesday, Oct. 15.
- Dave Hawkins
