This afternoon on Through Science to Health KPTZ’s host Chris Bricker summarized some of the national COVID-19 statistics and Lynn Sorensen, RN reviewed Dr Locke’s January 19 update to the BOCC and community. Vaccines to protect the populace against COVID-19 are being given through Jefferson Healthcare’s drive up clinics with registration online through the JHC website. The rollout of the vaccine depends on supply that the state distributes each week to the counties. New guidelines were announced by the state of Washington this week on the tiers/ages eligible for the vaccine. The community is asked to be patient with the process.

The following is a summary of the presentation made by Dr. Locke, our local Health Officer, during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioner’s meeting:

Note: As of this day, Jefferson County now has 269 cases, with 125 cases per 100,000 population, a 3.18% case positivity. Neighboring Clallam County has 154 cases per 100,000 population with 8.5% new case positivity. Both counties remain among the lowest in both metrics in Washington.  Mason County has recorded 360 cases per 100,000 population and 19.8% positivity for new cases, with Kitsap County at 233.cases per 100,000 and 12.5% positivity.  The metrics for Mason, Kitsap, Jefferson and Clallam Counties are tied together in determining progression to the next phase of loosening restriction for re-opening under the RoadMap to Recovery statewide plan.

Today, January 19, Public Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke shared about the recent Jefferson County increase in COVID-19 cases. He answered questions from KPTZ listeners about:

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Submit your Public Health questions to Dr. Tom Locke by emailing contactus@kptz.org. Note: The weekly deadline for these to be submitted is on Fridays at noon, to be answered at the following Monday’s BOCC meeting. 

The following is a summary of the presentation made by Dr. Locke, our local Health Officer, during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioner’s meeting:

Today, January 11, Public Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke shared his assessment of the pandemic in Jefferson County and answered questions submitted from KPTZ listeners.

Note: Next Public Health update will occur on Tuesday, January 19th due to the Martin Luther King Holiday on Monday.

General opening remarks:   

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Today on Through Science to Health Chris Bricker, KPTZ host, and Lynn Sorensen, RN welcomed Dr. Joe Mattern of Jefferson Health Care to join our conversation regarding the ongoing response to the pandemic. Joe Mattern, MD is JHC’s Chief Medical Officer and the Medical Director for JHC’s Home Health and Hospice. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have arrived in Jefferson County and healthcare workers were the first to be offered vaccinations.

Dr Mattern is charged with the logistics of what group of community members will be next for the vaccine. And how to best notify those selected. Not everyone has internet or uses JHC’s My Chart EMR. The CDC has advisory guidelines for the people most at risk for contracting COVID-19 but it is up to the individual states/Governors to decide on the distribution of the vaccine and who is next in line.

Public Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke shared an update regarding the pandemic picture in Jefferson County: The national picture continues to show certain region experiencing steep increase in new infections, while other regions’ new cases are slowing. The South and Southwest U.S. are experiencing the greatest increase in new infections. Overall, new infections are up 10% over the last two weeks and the deaths continue. Washington’s cases are plateauing, with new cases slowing. Hospitalization use is at an all time high. Counties surrounding Jefferson continue to be higher than state guidelines for suppression of the virus, but beginning to slow. Jefferson County stands at 59.6 per 100,000 population, down from the last update and 2-3% of all tests are positive.

Vaccines arrived in Jefferson County last Tuesday. 975 doses, about half of which have been administered, came on Tuesday. Appointments continue to be made for those on the priority list. Priority categories can be viewed on the Washington State Department of Health website. Prioritizations initially are issued from the CDC as well as state and local entities as needed. Dr. Locke estimates about 1 million persons will step forward to be vaccinated by the end of February 2021.

Approaching the end-of-year holidays, Dr. Locke reminds us that we have not yet seen the worst of the winter surge. Locally our behavior over the Thanksgiving holiday changed enough to avoid a community surge. Cases continue to be primarily among those who mix household members or who receive visitors from outside our county, who unknowing infect those household members. Restricting movement among members of different households is easier and needs to continue to avoid a surge that could appear after the holidays. See the recommendations on the JC Public Health website. Testing for travel is still limited in Jefferson County. Washington will begin a program for vouchers for COVID-19 testing through Walgreens.

Answers to questions from KPTZ listeners:

• After traveling, it is not necessary to forgo scheduled medical or dental visits, except when receiving invasive dental procedures. Discuss with your provider.
• Suicides are thought to rise during the holidays, when in fact, they do not. What does increase is drinking, anxiety and drug use.
• COVID-19 theoretically can be introduced to your eyes and travel to your nose, where it gains entry to your body, but is typically inhaled through the nose.
• The amounts of vaccine doses shipped to each state are based on the percent of the population present in each priority group established by the CDC. It is a description of those at highest risk of serious disease and exposure. Local counties have some leeway to adjust the hierarchy. Review by a consortium of experts on vaccine safety for the western states will not hold up distribution to our state.
• Two-thirds of coronavirus negative tests are primarily taken when someone has symptoms or has exposure to a positive case. One-third are taken for those undergoing pre-procedure testing. No influenza has been seen in Jefferson County to date.
• Improvement in health outcomes for serious COVID-19 disease has come from improved clinical management. Newer FDA-approved drugs have made modest improvements. Masking appears to reduce infectious viral dose.
• To avoid recurring surges, masking needs to improve. Trend toward more aggressive enforcement of masking and a possible ban on face shields for improved source control may be on the horizon. Discussions are also looking at strategies for enforcement of store capacity to reduce spread.
• COVID-19 tests for travel and families who want small gatherings are limited. Other options are purchasing test kits in stores or online.
• Vaccinations stimulate your body to react to the presence of a virus or bacteria. Current vaccines for COVID-19 prevent progression to serious clinical illness, as measured in the randomized clinical trials. Both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will provide 95% protection of stopping the virus from sufficiently reproducing. Infectiousness of individuals after they got the vaccine and got infected were not studied in the trial, but are underway. Assume that 5% of the population who gets the vaccine and gets the virus can spread the virus, as the vaccine was not protective enough to stop the virus from rapidly reproducing.
• Continued masking is critical as the vaccine fails in about 5% of those getting the shot. We also need to get about 60-70% of the population inoculated to sufficiently suppress circulation of the virus.
• There is no need to have anyone test for previous COVID-19 infection as determined by antibody tests. The degree of protection from natural infection is variable. Vaccines may be better protection than natural infection. It’s not a problem to get the vaccine if they have concurrent asymptomatic infection. If symptomatic, the advice is to have symptoms clear before getting the vaccine.
• New strains appear because viruses are always mutating, especially the COVID-19. The new strain seen in England and South Africa has been under the radar of scientists since September of this year. It appears to facilitate faster spread as evidenced in the change in the R naught number, 1.1 to 1.5. It appears to be 70% more effective in spreading quickly. Mutations rarely affect vaccine effectiveness. New mRNA technology makes adapting vaccines easier.
• All vaccines have expected and well documented side effects. More serious adverse events have been seen with these vaccines such as anaphylactic shock. This reaction has been seen before and is treatable. With more individuals vaccinated, we will discover more rare adverse events, but the important word is “rare”.
• The Department of Emergency Management does not currently have a role in vaccine distribution or rollout at this time; They will follow the lead actions as determined by Jefferson Healthcare and the Public Health Officer, Dr. Tom Locke.

There will be no BOCC Public Health update on December 28th. They are in recess and will return January 4, 2021.

Submit your Public Health questions to Dr. Tom Locke by emailing contactus@kptz.org.

Through Science to Health’s conversation between Lynn Sorensen, RN and Chris Bricker, KPTZ host included a select reiteration of Jefferson County’s Health Officer, Dr Tom Locke’s COVID-19 update to the BOCC on December 7, 2020, along with current COVID-19 vaccines soon to be available in the US. Lynn stressed that the vaccine roll out will be in stages starting with the frontline healthcare workers, first responders, and nursing home residents and their caregivers. Also that the vaccine will not take the place of masks or other hygiene measures until at least 70% of the US population is vaccinated.

Today, Public Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke shared about the recent Jefferson County increase in COVID-19 cases. He answered questions from KPTZ listeners about:
*Case count in WA state is up by 20%, which overwhelmed the state’s data system causing it to be down some in the past week.
* Jefferson County has the lowest case rate in the region.
* People with public health backgrounds are welcome to volunteer to assist Jefferson Co. Public Health with contact tracing.
* Distancing is the most important technique for avoiding the virus. Outdoors, at least 6 feet. Masking does not substitute for physical distancing. Even though not required, wearing a mask while bike riding is also recommended.
* Current recommendation is to stay home and stay healthy for at-risk individuals. Doctors’ offices are not at high risk for transmission.
* Cooked take-out meals are minimum risk, and helps the local economy.
* The real risk in dining out is when gathering with non-household members. The safest way is to dine only with one’s own household.
* Best time for testing is 5 days following a close contact with someone who contracts Covid-19.
* The 25% occupancy (of fire capacity) is up to the store itself to maintain. 
* Discussion of vaccines: the government has purchased enough for the entire US population, so they will be available at no out of pocket cost.
* Vaccination levels need to be at least 70%, and perhaps more, before it will be possible to stop wearing masks.
* Vaccines have not been tested on children under 18, which will delay rollout of the vaccine to youth.
* WANotify phone app system is recommended, for anonymous contact tracing of both time and distance.

Department of Emergency Management Director Willie Bence said that 45,000 additional N95 masks are being delivered, prioritizing hospitals and first line workers. This represents an increase in capacity.

Submit your Public Health questions to Dr. Tom Locke by emailing contactus@kptz.org.

In this special edition of Through Science to Health, Lynn and Chris speak with two graduates of Port Townsend High School who are now working as medical professionals in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin.
Jesse Maupin, Hospitalist at the University of Wisconsin Medical Hospital, and Will Bringgold, who is doing his pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship at University of Wisconsin in Madison, offer their perspective from the front lines.

They candidly and compassionately speak of the long hours, increasing staffing needs, and the sincere need for community support and empathy to help them with the day-after-day challenges in patient care during these times.

Jesse has written a letter to the Leader, which will be published in its December 2 edition. The title: “Empathy in the Time of COVID.”

Today, date Public Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke shared about the recent Jefferson County increase in COVID-19 cases. He answered questions from KPTZ listeners about:

• The country and our county are in exponential growth phase, with state case increase of 124% in the past 2 weeks.
• Locally in Jefferson County, 31 new cases in the last week. Four were from household and close friend spread, others were from out-of-county visitors or from visitors here; extended family infections; cluster in a pod;
• There is a 7-day threshold following exposure, meaning that if the person who was exposed is negative on Day 7, they are likely not to become infected or infectious.
• Tests of the new vaccine are looking to be viable strategies. It is thought that it will require 70% of the population to be vaccinated in order to be effective.
• Baking for others is considered to be minimum risk.

Don’t forget, you can submit your Public Health questions to Dr. Tom Locke by emailing contactus@kptz.org.

On today’s Through Science to Health KPTZ Host Chris Bricker and Lynn Sorensen, RN, continue to stress the importance of maintaining the mitigation measures of masking, hand washing, and social distancing as the US experiences the third wave of the pandemic. The upcoming holiday season when families will want to get together are advised not to by Dr Tom Locke, our public health officer. Jefferson County’s case rate is much lower than other counties across the state and sticking to the mitigation measures will help to maintain that rate.

Pfizer has announced a vaccine that is 90% effective to the coronavirus and could be distributed before the end of 2020. Lynn explained how this vaccine differs from past vaccines with its genetic mechanism to stimulate the immune system.

KPTZ listeners are encouraged to listen weekly to Dr Tom Locke’s pandemic updates to the BOCC on Monday’s at 9:45am.