The state’s COVID-19 map is updated every Thursday.
Public service announcement!
According to data released from the state yesterday, Derby has the highest per capita COVID-19 infection rate in Connecticut.
The data covers March 7 through March 20.
Over that period, there were 85 cases, for a per capita rate of 48.5. Click this link and turn to page six for the complete list.
Click here to search for COVID-19 testing facilities.
Let’s Do Math
Epidemiologists and statisticians look at per capita rates as a way to compare populations of different sizes.
Here is the formula they use:
- Take the 85 cases reported in the period and divide by 14 days.
- That gives you roughly 6 cases a day.
- Divide 6 by 12,515 (Derby’s population).
- Multiply that answer by 100,000.
- You should get 48.5, the per capita rate.
On social media, people often want to use their own formulas, as evidenced by comments under COVID-19 stories. But this is the formula that is used in the U.S. and elsewhere.
What’s Derby’s 48.5 rate mean to the average resident?
Well, for perspective, the rate can vary, and has. Derby had a higher rate (57.6) in the first half of November (which was a jump from October, when Derby’s rate was 17.1). Derby’s schools are seeing an increase in cases, as noted at the bottom of this story.
Gov. Ned Lamont, during a press conference Thursday, specifically mentioned Ansonia and Derby as seeing cases rise, according to NBC Connecticut.
In the video below, Lamont mentions Ansonia and Derby about 1 minute and 40 seconds in.
“It just gives you an idea of where the infections are right now, which we’re watching closely,” Lamont said, reviewing the latest COVID-19 map (which gets updated every Thursday).
The Naugatuck Valley Health District did not return an email for comment.
Ansonia, by the way, has 108 cases over the same time period, for a per capita rate of 41.2.
Ansonia Lags In Vaccinations
The state announced Thursday that people between the ages of 16 and 44 can begin making vaccination appointments on April 1, a few days earlier than previously scheduled. Click here for a list of vaccination options.
The state Department of Health updated its latest town-by-town data on Thursday.
The data shows that 47.3 of Derby’s population has had a first round of COVID-19 vaccination.
Next door in Ansonia, 21.3 percent of the population has received the first dose. Looking at towns bordering Ansonia, Seymour’s at 27 percent. Woodbridge is at roughly 43 percent. Meanwhile, Orange is at 43 percent, and Shelton is at 33 percent.
All that data is from March 24.
Drilling a little deeper into Connecticut’s massive data portal — 67 percent of Ansonia’s residents between the ages of 65 and 74 have received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. About 63 percent of people 75 and older have received a first dose, according to the latest state data.
Click the play button for a quick tour of the state’s vaccination map.
The City of Ansonia has announced a number of vaccination clinics at the Ansonia Armory. City officials, through robocalls and social media posts, have been urging people to get vaccinated. Check the city’s Facebook page for information.
On Wednesday, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven announced that Griffin Hospital is receiving a $25,000 grant to be used for mobile vaccination clinics.
Team Inc, a community action agency in Derby, and Griffin Hospital teamed to produce a number of videos designed to combat vaccine hesitancy locally. Click the video below for an example. The story continues below the video.
Not My Fault
Allow me to break the fourth wall for a moment.
For a full year now, The Valley Indy’s Facebook page is a place where some people, whenever COVID-19 data is shared, accuse the media of participating in a “narrative.”
My feeling is:
In this politically polarized era, invariably a segment of the population will characterize the sharing of this information in this story as “fear mongering.”
I live in Derby. It’s my daughter’s 8th birthday. I meant to take today off. I’m not trying to scare you.
Now Back To The Story
Here’s a post from state Rep. Kara Rochelle’s page. It also contains COVID-19 vaccination options (click it to see). She represents Ansonia and Derby and often posts COVID-19 related info. The story continues below the post.
What’s Up With Derby’s Rate?
Derby is certainly seeing an uptick in cases in the school district as of late, with Superintendent Matthew Conway sending home almost daily messages noting new cases.
The Irving School has been on remote learning since March 16 due to the number of staff members that were in mandatory quarantine.
The school district maintains a COVID-19 dashboard on its website. It shows nine students currently out with COVID-19 at the Irving School, and six at Derby High School.
The image below is a screen shot of the dashboard from 8 a.m. Friday (March 26).
The Derby school district’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Latest COVID-19 Headlines
CT News Junkie on the April 1 expansion of vaccination eligibility
CT Mirror: GOP frustrated over governor’s powers, comments on vaccine hesitancy
Hartford Courant: hospitalizations and positivity rates are up in Connecticut
