COVID Update from Dr. Hall 10/12/2021

  Continued high levels of transmission and two new deaths this past week, including one in a person in their 40s with no underlying health issues besides excess weight who was unvaccinated. Significant spike in the numbers of kids aged 10-19 with COVID, which is not unexpected given the Homecoming Dance on 10/2 at the local high school. What will be important is whether those teens then pass the virus on to others who are at higher risk of severe illness or death. That group at higher risk includes people age 40+ who are unvaccinated, which is still a lot of people in our county due to our low vaccination rates. Continued very high hospitalization rates across the region. Just today I got a notice from the state that they are scrambling to fill nursing positions in hospitals and nursing homes (staffing is the major limiting factor for capacity, not physical beds). The pressure on our hospital system is high right now, so please do what you can to not add to it. Get vaccinated if you haven't already, continue to use mitigation strategies (mask, distance, stay home, keep your circle small) while our community transmission rates are so high, and isolate and get tested if you develop ANY symptoms. If you DO get COVID, check to see if you qualify for monoclonal antibody therapy, which can reduce your risk of hospitalization by up to 70%. You can access this therapy through our local hospital systems. Here's some good info on who qualifies: https://combatcovid.hhs.gov/.../how-do-i-know-if-im-high... Stay safe everyone. Hopefully this surge will start to wane soon. A lot depends on what happens with this big group of infected teens and whether they spread it much or not.