SALISBURY — About 15% of the county’s residents have received a COVID-19 booster shot, according to new data from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Data added to the state’s daily update this week show 22,172 of the 60,353 fully vaccinated Rowan Countians have received a booster shot.

About 11,000 of those with a booster shot are over the age of 65. Nearly everyone who’s received a booster shot in Rowan County is over the age of 18. Just 91 are below the age of 18, according to state data.

Rowan County’s percentage of people with booster shots is worse than all neighboring counties. Booster shot percentages for neighboring counties are:

• 22% of Cabarrus County’s residents (47,263 people)

• 26% of Davie County residents (11,311 people)

• 20% of Davidson County residents (33,645 people)

• 21% of Iredell County residents (41,098 people)

• 18% of Stanly County residents (11,363 people)

In other local COVID-19 data:

• 12 Rowan County residents have died after contracting COVID-19 in 2022. That puts the total at 512 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Health Director Alyssa Harris said one of the 12 deaths from COVID-19 in 2022 was a vaccinated person who hadn’t received a booster shot.

“We really want to emphasize the importance of staying up to date with a COVID-19 vaccine to maintain a high level of protection, especially for individuals with underlying conditions,” Harris said.

• Rowan County residents are testing positive for COVID-19 at a faster rate than ever before, with 3,495 new COVID-19 cases reported in the previous two weeks. That period includes a one-day total of 388 positive results from tests conducted on Jan. 6, which is a record. The number of tests reported in a day has topped 388, but those tests may have been conducted on different days.

Most days during the recent surge in cases caused by the omicron variant have brought double-digit numbers of people who are getting COVID-19 for a second or subsequent time. Included in the record on Jan. 6 are at least 38 people who are considered reinfections.

Adjusted for population, Rowan County on Friday had fewer cases in the previous two weeks than all neighbors except Davie County.

• An average of 43 people were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 at Rowan Medical Center during the last week in 2021, according to data posted this week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. At the start of December, the same number was 22.

• The Triad Health Care Preparedness Coalition, which contains Rowan County, reported 1,077 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 at the end of last week. That’s about double the number of hospitalizations one month ago. Of those, 200 people were on ventilators.

• About 33% of COVID-19 tests conducted in Rowan County in the previous two weeks have been positive.

For more COVID-19 data in Rowan County or North Carolina, visit covid19.ncdhhs.gov.