Breakthrough rate 1.1%, youngest COVID death reported
Flu clinics operating countywide
COMMUNITY NOTICE
October 12, 2021
Flu vaccine clinics are being held in locations throughout Garfield County in October. No appointment is needed.
Free radon test kits are available in Rifle, Glenwood Springs and Carbondale. More information on Garfield County Environmental Health’s Radon page.
 FDA sets October meeting to discuss COVID-19 vaccine for youth ages five to 11Â
Pfizer has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize the COVID-19 vaccine in smaller dosages for children between the ages of five and 11. The FDA meets on Oct. 26 to review Pfizer data and inform their decision-making process.
COVID-19 death in 34-year-old individual
A 34-year-old male Garfield County resident has passed away due to COVID-19. The individual was unvaccinated and the youngest person in the county to pass away from the illness. There have been 59 deaths in the county due to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
 Garfield County COVID-19 breakthrough case rate, 1.1%
There have been 355, or 1.1 percent of fully vaccinated, individuals having a breakthrough case since Feb. 27, 2021, when the first breakthrough case was reported to Garfield County Public Health.
Most COVID-19 cases occur among the unvaccinated, as depicted in the graph below. When a larger proportion of a population is vaccinated, there will be a larger number of breakthrough cases (as seen in the 70 and older population below). Garfield County is still seeing less severe disease and hospitalizations in vaccinated individuals.
As of Oct. 8, three individuals were hospitalized for COVID-19 and all are unvaccinated.
| Group | Percent First Dose | Percent Up to Date |
| 12-15 | 60% | 52% |
| 16-18 | 65% | 56% |
| 19-29 | 68% | 58% |
| 30-39 | 64% | 57% |
| 40-49 | 70% | 63% |
| 50-59 | 72% | 66% |
| 60-69 | 85% | 80% |
| 70-79 | 93% | 89% |
| 80+ | 85% | 79% |
| M | 71% | 64% |
| F | 73% | 66% |
Sharp COVID-19 case increase
There has been a sharp, 40 percent increase in COVID-19 cases over the past seven days. Most of the state is in the red tier, including Garfield County, when looking at 14-day cumulative incidence rate. This indicates community spread of the virus. Experts are hoping that the wave of Delta variant cases will slowly decrease around Thanksgiving.