5 more vaccinated people die as COVID hospitalizations skyrocket in Hidalgo Co.

Hospitalizations in Hidalgo County have gone from an alarming increase over time to now soaring, with 380 people with COVID-19 being treated in local hospitals compared to the 266 the county reported just one day ago.

In addition to the sharp rise in hospitalizations, the county also reported 407 new cases of COVID-19 and six more deaths, five of whom were vaccinated.

Those who died were five women in their 50s and 70s from Alton, Donna, McAllen and Weslaco; and one man in his 70s from Mission.

The new cases, composed of 72 confirmed and 335 probable cases, raise the county’s overall tally to 128,178, of which there have been 73,709 confirmed, 51,273 probable and 3,196 suspect cases since the start of the pandemic.

The majority of new cases are made up of people who reside in Mission with 126, another 60 in Edinburg and 50 more in McAllen.

Cases in schools have also increased significantly with 654 students and 218 staff members testing positive in Hidalgo County campuses, raising overall totals to 6,551 and 1,909, respectively, since those numbers started being tracked in August 2021.

Of the 380 people in hospitals with COVID, 35 are pediatric patients. There are also 71 people in intensive care units, six of them children.

There are currently 880 net active cases in the county.

Cameron County confirmed a significant rise in cases with 2,272 as of Wednesday, 1,785 of which are confirmed while 487 are listed as probable.

There were also four more deaths reported in Cameron County on Wednesday, two were people who had been vaccinated. Those who died were three men in their 40s, 70s and 80s from Brownsville, Harlingen and San Benito, and one Los Fresnos woman in her 70s.

Cameron’s death toll is now at 2,046.