MAGIC VALLEY — The South Central Public Health District reports the Magic Valley is seeing a slight increase in COVID-19 cases throughout the eight counties.
The uptick in cases comes after the region was seeing a decrease in cases for the last couple of months following the release of the vaccine. SCPHD officials say the decrease in cases was not only due to people being vaccinated but also to people building natural immunity after contracting the virus.
“There’s a lot of research going into how long that natural immunity lasts, but many figures point to right around six months give or take a couple of months. We are reaching that point now where it’s been a little over six months so it’s very likely individuals who were protected by natural immunity no longer have that protection," said SCPHD spokesperson Brianna Bodily.
Although we are seeing a slight increase in cases, the health district does not anticipate this to be as big of a surge as the one the Magic Valley saw in November. They say the heat among other factors contributes to this increase remaining low.
“One is the time of year. People who are gathering often gather outside. We have fresh air. We have sunlight helping to prevent the spread of disease. Another factor is the vaccination rate. It’s not as high as we would like to see it so we urge everyone to get vaccinated who is not already, but people who are vaccinated do have a measure of protection, even against the delta variant, which has proven to be a little more resistant to this vaccine,” Bodily said.
The health district says they are concerned about the fall since schools will return, and people will start gathering indoors as opposed to outdoors. They encourage those who are eligible to get the vaccine to do so.
