Bossier, DeSoto parishes considered ‘high risk’ for COVID-19

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - Since June 10, Louisiana has reported 2,303 new cases of COVID-19, with 394 of them being reinfections; 304 people have been hospitalized.

Bossier and DeSoto Parishes are now considered high risk, with most neighboring parishes considered medium risk. The Louisiana Department of Health says most cases are tied to community spread.

“As kids go to camps in the summer, we are hearing that there are outbreaks of COVID at camps,” said Dr. John Vanchiere with LSU Health Shreveport.

He said this is only one challenging point in the pandemic.

“People are tired of it, number one. And the vaccines that were developed in year one, and rolled out in year two of the pandemic, have now waned in their ability to protect against transmission,” he said.

The shots are still effective in protecting people from severe disease, hospitalization and death. However, less than half of the fully vaccinated people in the U.S. have gotten their booster shot.

Vanchiere believes the summertime will reduce the intensity of a surge.

“Because what we’re dealing with now are variants of omicron, we expect and we know the transmission is still very high, but severity of disease is generally mild.”

He also noted the trends the state saw last summer.

“If you remember, a year ago, we had the Delta variant, which started in early summer and really took off in late summer, as school was coming back. Omicron was a different germ altogether, in some ways. It spread very quickly, went down very quickly.”

He said it’s about patience, prudence and protection to reduce the risk of catching COVID-19.

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