New COVID-19 cases, or at least those reported to the Lake Cumberland District Health Department, appear to be trending downward, if the latest numbers released by the agency are a dependable indicator.

According to the local health agency, Clinton County had 39 new cases of COVID-19 added to its case numbers during the most recent seven day reporting period ending with Monday, February 14.

That compares with 80 new cases that were reported in Clinton County during the previous seven day reporting period.

As has been the case for several weeks now, the agency continues to note that its case counts might not be as accurate as they had been in the earlier months of the pandemic, for several reasons.

With a backlog of cases, employees with LCDHD have found it difficult in recent weeks to complete contact tracing tasks, as well as just being able to contact individuals who have recently tested positive.

The agency notes that they are not able to add suspected new cases to the county totals if they have not been able to contact the patient.

In addition, the increasing prevalence of home testing that is being completed is also making it difficult to tally accurate case numbers, as those results are not required to be reported to a health agency.

According to the most recent figures from the Kentucky Cabinet for Public Health, there have been no new deaths among Clinton County residents that were directly attributed to the COVID-19 disease for the past several weeks.

In its most recent COVID-19 report, the state agency listed the number of COVID-19 deaths among Clinton County residents at 41.

To date, there have been 3,235 cases of COVID-19 among Clinton County residents, although that number, too, can be misleading, in that it doesn’t distinguish between first-time cases and patients who have contracted the disease on multiple occasions.

The new method of accounting for cases within the Commonwealth also does not include tabulations for “released” cases, making it impossible also to determine exactly how many active cases are in Clinton County, or any county for that matter, at any one time.

As for vaccinations among the Clinton County population, those numbers remain fairly easy to understand and report.

As of Tuesday morning of this week, the state agency reported that there had been 4,682 Clinton County residents who have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, meaning that 45.82 percent of the local population has been vaccinated.

The highest percentage of vaccinated citizens here are those who are 65 years of age or older, with 73.24 percent, or 1,478 having been vaccinated.

In the past week, according to the state health agency, 11 Clinton County residents have received a COVID-19 vaccine.

Vaccinations against the virus are now readily available at several locations in Albany, including local pharmacies, and those seeking a vaccine are urged to call your favorite pharmacy for information.

Readers are also reminded that vaccines are free for everyone.

Vaccines are also now available again at the Clinton County Health Department.

Vaccination appointments through the Clinton County Health Department, or more information about the vaccines being offered and the vaccination dates and times, may be obtained by calling 606-387-5711.

The local health department is also now offering booster vaccines to those who are eligible.