The final week of 2021 may have been a lax one for COVID-19 data updates, but it was preceded by growing pandemic-related hospitalizations and encouragement for Buncombe residents to get vaccinated amid the fast-spreading omicron variant.
Buncombe County did not release weekly numbers during the holiday, allowing employees a breather before the new year. But state numbers show a steady rise in infections.
More: Buncombe COVID cases up 50% in a week, omicron and holiday could see 'many more' infected
As of Dec. 29, North Carolina's COVID dashboard reported Buncombe County has 275 active cases per 100,000 people in the previous seven days and 29 new cases per 100,000 since Dec. 28.
The 14-day percent positivity rate on Dec. 29 was 7.8%.
At local hospitals, virus numbers continue to rise.
As of 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 29, there were 89 COVID positive inpatients in Mission Health system in WNC, according to spokesperson Nancy Lindell. These included:
63 at Mission Hospital.
5 at Angel Medical Center.
10 at Blue Ridge Regional Hospital.
4 at Mission Hospital McDowell.
7 at Transylvania Regional Hospital.
The Mission network had about 70 COVID inpatients on Dec. 21.
As of 8 a.m. Dec. 29, Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville had 26 patients hospitalized for COVID, and eight of those patients were being cared for in the ICU, according to spokesperson Erica Allison.
Pardee had 13 patients hospitalized with COVID on Dec. 21.
AdventHealth Hendersonville spokesperson Victoria Dunkle said Dec. 29 the hospital is caring for 18 COVID patients with nine in the ICU.
On Dec. 21, Advent had 11 people hospitalized with COVID.
Related: Omicron should 'concern us all,' says Mission medical chief; nurses call for OSHA safety
State data also shows one of the highest positive COVID test days in the county in recent months. On Dec. 23, 186 people in Buncombe tested positive for COVID. The day before, 156 people tested positive.
In Buncombe, 176,170 people had been vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 28, about 65% of the population, according to state data.
Public Health Director Stacie Saunders said on Dec. 21 her department alone administered 107,500 total doses of vaccine.
Saunders during the final weeks of the year has emphasized the county's long-haul effort to promote and provide vaccines since the first doses arrived in December 2020.
Throughout the week before Christmas, Buncombe County pushed six different news updates on its website and two Health and Human Service Department information opportunities, encouraging people to get vaccinated and boosted, listing vaccine sites and events and answering questions about the potential impact of omicron.
Related: Restaurants prepare for the worst as COVID-19 cases rise amid omicron variant spread
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Dec. 28 that 58.6% of U.S. COVID cases were omicron, continuing the variant's dominance and outpacing the former variant leader, delta, which now represents just more than 41% of cases.
Saunders said Dec. 21 that there's not necessarily a way to track locally whether delta or omicron have more of a stronghold.
"The way that works in our state," she said of tracking efforts, "is that, as samples get tested at labs, a certain percentage of those samples are sequenced to determine what variant we have circulating."
Those results are then released by the state in a respiratory report. Saunders said that report in the third week of December showed delta was still the dominant variant.
Omicron was first detected in North Carolina the week ending Dec. 11, according to reports, and represented less than 5% of sequenced cases at that point.
Health officials still are encouraging people to get tested often, especially after gathering.
With at-home testing becoming a more prevalent means of COVID detection, Saunders said people should read the directions so that they get an accurate result.
"The one thing that I want folks to remember about at-home testing," Saunders said, "is that those are heavily dependent on getting a good sample."
The Buncombe County COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Health and Human Services tower, 40 Coxe Ave., continues to provide vaccinations and boosters to all eligible populations.
It will be open each weekday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting Jan. 3.
Additionally, BCHHS continues to provide updated information about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines at its website.
Saunders, state and federal health experts say it’s safe for people to gather for the holiday if they are vaccinated, have received boosters and practice masking and social distancing.
Otherwise, those who are not immunized against COVID symptoms should not travel and should quarantine and test, if they plan on coming into close contact with others within 7 days.
Related: Buncombe County votes on mask mandate extension, bemoans uncertain COVID future
Related: Buncombe hopeful 5-11-year-olds will fill COVID-19 vaccination gap, reduce quarantine time
Andrew Jones is Buncombe County government and health care reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow or reach him at @arjonesreports on Facebook and Twitter. Email him at arjones@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NC COVID data shows gradual rise in hospitalization as omicron spreads