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Jackson County reports deadliest COVID quarter By Mail Tribune staff Updated: Oct 13, 2021 04:23 PM A A Summer COVID-19 deaths trended younger, according to county data Jackson County Public Health reported its deadliest quarter since the start of the pandemic, and offered new data into the vaccination statuses of the first 298 locals to die of COVID-19. More than 46% of the county’s COVID-19 death toll occurred during the months of July, August and September, according to a release issued Wednesday by Jackson County Health and Human Services. The average age of those 138 deaths in the third quarter of this year was 68 years. In contrast, the average age of patient deaths during the first quarter of 2021 was 79 years. Jackson County recorded 66 new cases along with its 297th and 298th deaths Wednesday. They included a 57-year-old man who tested positive Aug. 16 and died Sept. 20 at their residence, and an 86-year-old woman who tested positive Aug. 11 and died Sept. 17 at their residence. They each had underlying health conditions that contributed to their deaths. Out of those 298 patient deaths, 258 involved patients that had not been vaccinated, according to Jackson County Health Promotion Manager Tanya Phillips. The number of patients with COVID-19 at Southern Oregon hospitals continued a downward trend Wednesday morning with 50 patients, according to state and local health officials, including 17 patients in the intensive care unit. Hospitalizations have gradually declined since their Sept. 1 peak of 223 patients in the state’s hospital region No. 5, which is comprised of hospitals in Jackson and Josephine counties. Statewide, health officials recorded 33 new deaths and 1,278 new cases. Broken down by county, the new cases included 139 in Marion, 130 in Lane, 113 in Multnomah, 106 in Clackamas, 105 in Deschutes, 101 in Washington, 73 in Linn, 58 in Umatilla, 50 in Douglas 33 in Klamath, 31 in Crook, 30 in Malheur and Polk, 27 in Coos, 25 in Benton, 22 in Yamhill, 20 in Jefferson, 15 in Wasco, nine in Union, eight in Columbia and Lake, seven in Baker, six in Curry, five in Harney, four in Wallowa, and three cases each in the counties of Clatsop, Morrow and Tillamook. Ages and other details about the 33 latest deaths were not available as of Wednesday afternoon.