WP Perspectives – Dec. 6, 2021

Posted on by krislandrum
Diversity hands

Focus on Facts

  • The highly mutated variant of the coronavirus has reached more than 40 countries and has been detected in 12 U.S. states. “This is probably the most mutated virus we’d ever seen,” said Alex Sigal who leads a team of researchers working to learn more about omicron. Viruses, like other organisms, evolve over time to increase their chance of survival. A stronger virus, of course, is generally bad news for us people. That’s why scientists are initially concerned when they see a highly mutated virus.

    As of this writing, it has not yet been found in Virginia. There are many unknowns, but vaccination is still regarded as the best protection.

 

  • Patients who survive severe COVID-19 may suffer significant damage to their overall health, making them more than twice as likely to die over the following year than those who experience milder virus symptoms or remain uninfected, a study published in Frontiers in Medicine has found.

    The increased risk of death was greater for survivors under 65, and most of the deaths were not linked with common complications from the disease—suggesting that the patients experienced an overall decline in health, researchers say.

 

  • A Facebook post claimed: "Unmask your kids! Any carbon dioxide concentrations above" 2,000 parts per million are "dangerous!" FALSE!

    CDC: "Wearing a mask does not raise the carbon dioxide (CO2) level in the air you breathe. Cloth masks and surgical masks do not provide an airtight fit across the face. The CO2 escapes into the air through the mask when you breathe out or talk. CO2 molecules are small enough to easily pass through mask material. In contrast, the respiratory droplets that carry the virus that causes COVID-19 are much larger than CO2, so they cannot pass as easily through a properly designed and properly worn mask."

News You Can Use

How Can Employers Help with COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts?

Vaccine rates continue to be sluggish in the West Piedmont Health District (WPHD). This means everyone needs to join efforts to fight COVID -- including local employers! Building confidence in the vaccine is a big job. According to the CDC, employers can build vaccine confidence by:

  1. Discussing vaccination policies with labor and management representatives. Use organizational leaders as role models and identify employees at any level in your workplace to be vaccine champions. These role models and champions should reflect the diversity of the workforce, especially those disproportionately impacted. Invite the leaders and champions to share their personal reasons for getting vaccinated and remind employees why it’s important to be vaccinated.
  2. Communicate transparently to all employees about vaccination. See Key Things to Know, Frequently Asked Questions, and Myths and Facts for up-to-date information.
  3. Share key messages with employees through breakroom posters, emails, and other channels. Emphasize the benefits of protecting themselves, their families, co-workers, and community. This fact sheet is available in numerous languages. The WPHD can provide these materials upon request (kris.landrum@vdh.virginia.gov)
  4. Provide regular updates on topics like the benefits, safety, side effects and effectiveness of vaccination; clearly communicate what is and is not known.
  5. Invite a community health worker to visit your workplace and talk to your employees. The WPHD provides English and Spanish-speaking community health workers upon request. (nancy.bell@vdh.virginia.gov)
  6. CDC created the Workplaces and Businesses web page to help employers protect their employees with a variety of tools, including vaccination. The web page includes information on COVID-19 vaccines, post-vaccination considerations for workplaces, and information on other preventive measures.

For more information Click here

COVID-cabulary

Droplet spread

Droplet spread refers to transmission when coughs, sneezes, and breath travel some distance from an infected person to a non-infected person. Generally people have thought that close proximity is necessary for droplet spread, but research reported by the Journal of the American Medical Association (and motivated by the coronavirus pandemic), shows that infectious droplets can travel as far as 23 to 27 feet.

Just for Fun

Pandemic Timeline

Sadly, there is nothing fun about the coronavirus or the pandemic. During the various stages of the disease throughout the world, people have looked for diversions to help them cope. It's been a long, strange trip, and we're still on it. CNN has provided an interesting timeline for those who want to see how get got where we are today.

The Epi-Center

Epidemiology is the science at center of public health.

As of 12/05/2021, VDH reported the following percentages of residents in the West Piedmont Health District who are fully vaccinated (two weeks after second dose of Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, or the first dose of the J&J vaccine), and either boosted or received a third dose.

Locality: Fully Vaccinated, Boosted/3rd Dose

Franklin County: 46 %,  13.8%
Henry County: 46.3%, 12.6%
Martinsville: 54.1%, 13.6%
Patrick County: 38.7%, 11.1%

Locality

Franklin County
Henry County
Martinsville
Patrick County

Cases

6,557
7,093
2,227
2,306

Hospitalizations

275
462
186
137

Deaths

112
175
94
60
cumulative total as of 12/03/21

Pam ChitwoodMeet Our CHWs

If you haven’t see Pamela Chitwood out in a community garden or working the food lines for Stepping Stones Mission then where have you been? While her role will be changing, she still will spend her time out in the community helping others.

Pamela is one of the Community Health Workers (CHWs) serving Franklin County in the time of COVID-19. She is charged with educating people about the virtues of the COVID vaccine, answering questions and helping dispel misinformation. Her work also involves busting down barriers that prevent people from getting vaccinated -- working with partners to solve transportation and other issues. Her home base is STEP, Inc., but most of her time will be out in the community, assisting with vaccine clinics, talking to groups and following the data so that she and her colleagues can go where most needed.

A lifelong resident of Franklin County, Pamela lives with her husband, Steven and daughter, Olivia near the community of Ferrum.

She is part of a District-wide network of new CHWs charged with improving vaccination rates among people of all ages. Chitwood can be reached: pamela@uwrv.org