Virus Watch Podcasts

The following is a recording of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. Also Willie Bence, Director of Emergency Management, gave a report.

In her report to the Jefferson Board of County Commissioners, Dr. Berry explained the new CDC guidance which breaks from self-isolation with COVID infections, (because cases are getting less severe) and a new recommendation that anyone 65+ should get another booster if it has been more than 4 months. Dr. Berry describes the new CDC guidance as a replacement of public health directives with individual guidelines and protections (Wear a mask! Get a booster!)

Director of Emergency Management Willie Bence said that March, April and May can be a slow time for the EOC (fingers crossed) He recommended that people sign up for NIXLE ALERTS and described how to do that, including setting personal preferences on the NIXLE website.

The following is a recording of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. Also Willie Bence, Director of Emergency Management, gave a report about safe travel options on winter roads this season.

Public Health Officer for Jefferson and Clallam Counties, Dr. Allison Berry gave a public health report to the Jefferson Board of County Commissioners on January 2, 2024. Also along was Jefferson County Director of Emergency Management Willie Bence. Dr. Berry mentioned that there is a surge going on of COVID-19, especially of the latest variant: JN-1. Gatherings and events around the holidays contributed to the surge, and she said there are also more cases of Influenza and RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) and now strep. She said that a sore throat with a fever, without hoarseness and loss of voice are the hallmarks of strep. Because strep is a bacterial infection antibiotics are indicated, so getting a throat swab at the doctor’s office is needed. She also said that if a parent suspects their child has any of these maladies that calling the doctor’s office in the middle of the night is possible and a good idea. In answer to a listener’s question about deer being carriers of COVID, for most people keeping your distance from deer would keep you safe. You will get Covid by being exposed to people who have Covid-19. Hunters should mask and wear gloves while dressing their prey. Willie Bence spoke about the mild winter we have had so far, which is likely to continue and that the Warming Center in the Pope Marine Building in downtown Port Townsend is open every day. He also spoke about the NIXLE Alert service, a voluntary free subscription service which can provide warnings in the event of emergencies and extreme traffic delays on major routes of more than a half an hour. You can sign up on the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management website.

Today on KPTZ’s Health update by Dr. Allison Berry she congratulated both Jefferson and Clallam county residents for having the highest flu vaccine rate in Washington state! Flu cases are on the rise in other parts of the state and country but not locally.
There were two hospitalizations this past week at JHC for Covid but she stressed that primarily people hospitalized over the past month were not up to date on their vaccinations, had under lying medical conditions, and were in the 60-80 year old higher risk age range. Dr Berry encouraged older residents to get the RSV vaccine and that vaccine is covered by Medicare Part B, otherwise it could be quite pricey. The next health update to the BOCC will be Tuesday, January 2, 2024.

The following is a recording of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. Also Willie Bence, Director of Emergency Management, gave a report. The following is a summary by Lynn Sorensen.

Dr Berry’s health briefing stressed that Covid, while still active in Jefferson and Clallam counties, may be on the downtrend similar to other parts of the USA. Dr Berry reported there had been recent hospitalizations in both counties and there had been two deaths in Jefferson county the past month. All had multiple underlying medical conditions and were all also not up to date on their Covid vaccinations. She encouraged all who have not yet received the most recent Covid booster to do so. RSV vaccinations are available and RSV cases were expected to show up locally in the next month. Cases of Flu have not yet been detected, but will, the incidence of flu will increase as winter progresses. All three of these respiratory infections are mitigated by the wearing a close fitting mask, especially in crowded indoor settings.

Willie Bence spoke to the use of tsunami sirens in response to a listener’s question asking if these sirens could have different tones for different emergencies.

The following is a recording of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. Anna Piasecki, Program Coordinator sat in for  Willie Bence, Director of Emergency Management, and gave a report. She spoke about the GREAT SHAKEOUT, the earthquake preparedness drill taking place on October 19 at 10:19am.

As reported by Jim Burke, during the Public Health report to the BOCC, Dr. Allison Berry said we are in the midst of a real COVID-19 surge here now. Across the US, cases have plateaued so we should level off here too in the coming weeks. The cases are all the common omicron variants that the new booster shots are designed to ward off. The booster shot supplies have been a bit short, but are becoming more available. Anyone who has had a recent case should wait two months before seeking the booster. Flu and RSV shots ARE available now, but those cases are low right now. If anyone wants fewer side effects they can space out the vaccine shots by a couple of weeks, but the COVID-19 booster should be FIRST as COVID-19 cases are everywhere now in the community.

The following is a recording of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. Also Willie Bence, Director of Emergency Management, gave a report. The Peninsula Daily News quoted Dr. Berry: “This is not going back to 2020…I am not thinking we are going to overrun our hospitals.” Berry said COVID-19 levels were rising locally and across the national but that hospitalizations are still low; particularly among those who are up to date on their vaccines.

The following is a recording of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. Also Willie Bence, Director of Emergency Management, gave a report. The summary below was provided by Jim Burke, producer of KPTZ’s Tuesday’s Local News.

The most recent monthly COVID dashboard report on The Jefferson County Public Health website, dated July 19, said there were 2.4 billion copies of the SARS-COVID-2 gene per person, per day in Port Townsend wastewater. That data indicated an upward trend in the presence of COVID-19 in our community as KPTZ News reported last week. Since that time, however those numbers have fallen off, which brings us to the Board of County Commissioners meeting yesterday, August 7 and reports from Director of Emergency Management Willie Bence and Public Health Officer for Jefferson and Clallam Counties, Dr. Allison Berry.

Dr. Berry, of course had the latest COVID-19 numbers and information about vaccines available in the fall for anyone over 60 and they include the flu vaccine, a COVID-19 XBB booster which covers most of the current Omicron variants and a new vaccine for RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus.) There was one COVID-19 death in Jefferson County this past month of a patient in their 90s who was not vaccinated. That brings the death count here to 40. She went on to answer listener questions including one about Vaccines and Mammography, and pointed out that vaccines can cause lymph nodes in the armpits to enlarge. She assured everyone that Radiologists have been acutely aware that this normal immune response can show up in mammograms and the pandemic has brought this issue into focus. If you can time the vaccinations and the mammograms a few weeks apart, that’s great, but if you cannot, go ahead and do both when you can. She stressed that both are very important.

The following is a recording of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. The summary below was provided by Casey Dolan, contributor to KPTZ’s Local News.

Dr. Berry talked of two things: the first was to give a Covid-19 update; the second was to talk about the rise in opioid use, primarily fentanyl. Regarding Covid-19, the picture continues to look better with hospital admissions continuing to downtrend. Admissions are predominantly patients over 70 with underlying conditions. There have been two hospital admissions in the last month. There are no new deaths, which means the total is staying at 39. There is also no increase in the variants like xbb 1.5; but the CDC is likely to recommend a booster in the Fall. If you are 65 or older and have underlying conditions and have NOT had a second booster, they recommend getting one soon. If you are over 65 with NO underlying conditions, you can wait longer.

The local opioid overdose crisis began with prescription opioids such as Oxycontin and Percocet, but there was a rise in heroin use in 2015-16. At some point, maybe 2020-21, Fentanyl started to replace that because of the increase of effect; and that caused a doubling in the rate of overdoses. Fentanyl also has a short-term effect, meaning that addicts have to use more frequently, which increases the risk of death. There is a popular misconception that narcotic users are addicts to getting high, but actually they take the drugs to fight the effects of withdrawal. 70% of users want to quit, but there’s a big gap with treatment. Harm reduction seeks to reduce the harms of a given disease, even before you cure it. “I don’t want you to die. I’m going to take care of you.” Berry said that addicts are three times as likely to get sober in a harm-reduction program than if they are not. There are many barriers to service, however. People who live outside with no ID may become frustrated. But “we help them navigate that stigma in the system.” Narcan and Naloxone are part of that harm reduction, while they wait for EMS to arrive, which, in a rural community can sometimes take time. Naloxone, a nasal spray, is easy to use and available from the Health Department.

Naloxone will be distributed, perhaps in mail boxes around town – like outside of fire stations – as well as safe syringes and safer smoking supplies. Reusing smoking supplies gives rise to Hepatitis C. Addicts are less likely to overdose with smoking than injection. She encouraged checkups on people on the street who may not be moving and to spray in their nostrils if they seem like overdoses. It’s a safe thing to give to the general population.

Submit your Public Health questions to Dr. Allison Berry and to Willie Bence by emailing [email protected]. 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 recording of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. The summary below was provided by Jim Burke, producer of KPTZ’s Tuesday’s Local News.

On the COVID-19 front, Dr. Berry said there is less and less data available to track the extent to which COVID-19 is still present across the country, in Washington State, and in Jefferson County. Wastewater surveillance is possible in Port Townsend because of the sewer system and water treatment, but other areas of Jefferson County that are on septic systems provide no data. She said that hospitalizations are down across the US by 8%, but oddly deaths are up by 7%. In Washington all indicators are trending downward. There were 3 hospitalizations in Jefferson County over the last month and 2 new deaths to report: One patient was in their 90s and the other in their 50s, but both had underlying health conditions and were unvaccinated. She stressed that the outbreaks which are still occurring are among children, who are the least vaccinated group now, and also have many more opportunities for exposure to COVID-19. She recommends getting kids up to date on the vaccinations and, if your child is sick, to test them for COVID-19 and of course, keep them home. Previous infections are waning as protection from future illness, so she recommends everyone get up to date on vaccinations. In Clallam County there were no new deaths in May and just 2 hospitalizations due to COVID-19. Click here to see the Washington Department of Health COVID-19 data dashboard.

Health Reports to the BOCC will continue once a month, so listeners can send in questions to [email protected] by noon on the last Friday of the month, June 30. (Please note that, as July 3 is a Monday, there might not be a County Commissioners meeting then.)