‘We’re all sitting on go’: As COVID-19 positivity rate rises, North Texas county judges ready for vaccinations – WFAA.com

Wise, Cooke, Johnson and Grayson counties have all hit record-highs in both positivity rate and the 7-day average positivity rate in the past two weeks.

The COVID-19 positivity rate in Wise, Johnson, Cooke and Grayson counties have all seen a significant uptick from the end of 2020 going into 2021.

All of these North Texas counties have hit record-highs in both positivity rate and the 7-day average positivity rate in the past two weeks.

A county's positivity rate takes into account both the number of positive COVID-19 results and people tested. The 7-day average prevents outliers from impacting the results.

Wise County's positivity rate saw a large drop, nearly reaching 5% in early November. That's changed the past month and a half, with the rate breaking the 10% mark right before Christmas.

Wise County's current 7-day average is right above 10% and a record for the county.

"There's no magic bullet with COVID-19 or else you'd see different places solving it," Wise County Judge J.D. Clark said.

Clark says he and other county leaders are asking people to continue making smart decisions even with vaccine distribution beginning.

"The message we keep taking to everybody is we all have to accept the personal responsibility to listen to the information that's being put out there," Clark said. "We want to keep ourselves healthy and keep our families healthy."

Cooke County didn't have as much of a decrease during the fall as Wise County but has more than doubled its positivity rate from late November to early January.

The county's positivity rate has remained at or just below 10% since Dec. 22.

Johnson County's positivity rate hovered right above 8% from late November into the beginning of December. That number has gone up past 11% to start 2021.

"The telephone calls to my office have picked up dramatically," Johnson County Judge Roger Harmon said.

Harmon says, like many areas, his county is likely seeing this increase because of major winter holidays and people's desire to gather indoors.

"They have cabin fever, and they're tired of being cooped up," Harmon said.

Harmon also says due to Johnson County's rise in cases, people are noticing things getting worse and are ready to get the vaccine.

"We're all sitting on go," Harmon said. "We're waiting to get the vaccine."

Grayson County's positivity rate didn't dip as low as these other three counties. However, recent record highs have put pressure on the county's hospitals.

The Grayson County Office of Emergency Management in Sherman issued a "plea from your Texoma area hospitals" on New Year's Eve. The letter said ICU beds in the county are full, with coronavirus patients taking up 40% of them.

"It's not just the inventory of beds, it's workers," Grayson County Judge Bill Magers said.

With the county having an older population and some long-term care facilities, Magers says there are a lot of people in Grayson County ready to get the vaccine during the ongoing Phase 1B.

"We're taking care of our 1A, we're putting 1Bs on a list," Magers said.

Judges from all Wise, Johnson and Grayson counties say they don't currently know when the next set of vaccines will get to their counties. They are asking people living there for patience while hoping to have more answers for them in the near future.

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'We're all sitting on go': As COVID-19 positivity rate rises, North Texas county judges ready for vaccinations - WFAA.com