Health Officer Linda Vail said that 577 of the county’s active cases are new in the last week. These numbers are consistent with the national trend in which cases dropped drastically at the beginning of the summer, but have been steadily climbing ever since. 

The county’s hospital system, which includes Sparrow and McClaren facilities, is currently housing 72 COVID-19 cases, 13 of which are on ventilators and two of which are pediatric. 

Vail confirmed that while cases are on the rise, hospitalizations seem to have plateaued for the time being. 

The county’s overall positivity rate is currently hovering between 5-10%, but the health department hopes to lower that rate to 3%. 

Vail recalled “that ideal spot” over the summer in which county positivity rates dropped to 1-2%, and said that the numbers “are in a very different place now with regard to percent positivity.”

There have been an estimated 145 cases this past week which are related to MSU. 

Ingham County has given 172,346 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to permanent residents not including MSU’s dorm dwellers. The health department estimated that about 62% of residents over the age of 12 have been fully vaccinated, with 97.8% of seniors vaccinated. 

Vail said she expects vaccination rates to increase as shots become available for children ages five to 11. 

Vail said she is concerned to see pediatric cases of COVID-19 on the rise, but acknowledged that those numbers could shift once vaccines become available to younger age groups.