County Health Dept. Issues COVID Pandemic Update
December 11, 2021 at 12:47 a.m.
County Health Dept. Issues COVID Pandemic Update
By Staff Report-
“We now join most counties in northern Indiana in this very unfortunate risk category,” stated Dr. William L. Remington Jr., Kosciusko County public health officer. “Community transmission is very, very high. Disease burden remains eye-opening, with regional ICUs and their staff and ventilator beds pushed beyond capacity. Deaths are escalating. COVID’s delta variant continues to find every nook and cranny of vulnerability in the population. I will be blunt: If you are unimmunized, you will get COVID.
“The CDC and IDOH continue to appropriately recommend a multilayered mitigation strategy in communities, such as ours, with high COVID transmission. All those things you have been hearing for months are still in-play, and needed more intentionally. Specifically, universal masking in schools will help secure ongoing in-school learning. Indiana’s Communicable Disease Rule continues to appropriately demand COVID case reporting, contact investigation, isolation of those sick and quarantining of not-sick close contacts. Universal masking in schools has been proven to be so effective, that the Communicable Disease Rule allows a carve-out for contact quarantine in this setting. This is huge. Fewer students, staff and administration will need to go home and fewer buildings will close,” Remington said.
“Immunization remains our strongest tool, however. Most of the ICU admits and deaths are unimmunized. Breakthrough cases with Delta increase several months after the primary dosing, and boosting is now known to be clearly needed, and very effective. It will likely greatly mitigate the harm from any newly-emerging variant of concern, such as Omicron,” he continued.
“Our community is blessed to have free resources to help you. Testing at the publicly funded Bowen Health Center testing site at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds is available, without appointment, most days of the week. The Kosciusko County Health Department, local pharmacies, regional medical centers and mobile public vaccine clinics have robust immunization capacity. Call 211 or log-on to ourshot.in.gov to find the best fit for you.
“Take action, if not for yourself, then for the love of your neighbor. We will get through this.”
“We now join most counties in northern Indiana in this very unfortunate risk category,” stated Dr. William L. Remington Jr., Kosciusko County public health officer. “Community transmission is very, very high. Disease burden remains eye-opening, with regional ICUs and their staff and ventilator beds pushed beyond capacity. Deaths are escalating. COVID’s delta variant continues to find every nook and cranny of vulnerability in the population. I will be blunt: If you are unimmunized, you will get COVID.
“The CDC and IDOH continue to appropriately recommend a multilayered mitigation strategy in communities, such as ours, with high COVID transmission. All those things you have been hearing for months are still in-play, and needed more intentionally. Specifically, universal masking in schools will help secure ongoing in-school learning. Indiana’s Communicable Disease Rule continues to appropriately demand COVID case reporting, contact investigation, isolation of those sick and quarantining of not-sick close contacts. Universal masking in schools has been proven to be so effective, that the Communicable Disease Rule allows a carve-out for contact quarantine in this setting. This is huge. Fewer students, staff and administration will need to go home and fewer buildings will close,” Remington said.
“Immunization remains our strongest tool, however. Most of the ICU admits and deaths are unimmunized. Breakthrough cases with Delta increase several months after the primary dosing, and boosting is now known to be clearly needed, and very effective. It will likely greatly mitigate the harm from any newly-emerging variant of concern, such as Omicron,” he continued.
“Our community is blessed to have free resources to help you. Testing at the publicly funded Bowen Health Center testing site at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds is available, without appointment, most days of the week. The Kosciusko County Health Department, local pharmacies, regional medical centers and mobile public vaccine clinics have robust immunization capacity. Call 211 or log-on to ourshot.in.gov to find the best fit for you.
“Take action, if not for yourself, then for the love of your neighbor. We will get through this.”
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