When one individual has encountered another who is sneezing and snotty, it has always been human nature to stay away from them for fear of catching the same cold.
We’ve never referred to it as “social distancing,” but that’s what we did.
And “coronavirus”? That was funny at first, right? A virus cured by a Mexican beer?
Not so much anymore.
Since March 2020, the country has been handcuffed by Covid-19, a virus related to SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) that has infected nearly 55 million Americans and has played a factor in more than 840,000 deaths. The Omicron strain is now the most prevalent variant in the United States with 12.5 million new cases reported by all 50 states.
The Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department reported this past Sunday three associated deaths, and 212 new positive cases were recorded last week. With each press release, Administrator Howard Gamble includes the following:
If positive, you should restrict activities outside your home, except for getting medical care. Do not go to work, school, or public areas. If you have a medical appointment, call the healthcare provider and tell them that you have or may have COVID-19 prior to arriving at the facility. This will help the healthcare provider’s office take steps to keep other people from getting infected or exposed.
“That’s because we have not seen anything like this before. We did have H1/N1 previously, but it never reached the point where we see these really high numbers of people tested positive and how sick they are getting,” said Mark Ackermann, the Threat Preparedness Director of the Marshall County Health Department. “There are so many hospitalizations right now, and, unfortunately, some of those folks might not make it through.
“When our hospitals in this area become so crowded with Covid patients, it doesn’t leave much room for other people,” he said. “I know elective procedures have been shut down before, so I am sure that could be a possibility if this continues like it has the past few weeks.”
By The Numbers
In the 22 months since the first Covid-19 case was reported in West Virginia, health departments in the state’s 55 counties have recorded nearly 330,000 positives and more than 5,330 associated deaths. According to the Department of Health and Human Resources, there are 11,017 active cases with more than 8,600 positives reported in the last seven days.
During the same time period, Ohio County has recorded 170 new cases and one death, and Marshall County has reported 100 new cases and one death. Brooke County has not recorded an associated fatality in the last seven days, but they have reported 65 active cases.
“We have heard from a lot of people that they are not following the recommendations because they are tired of all of it. They are trying to live their life like they used to, but with the variants that are more transmissible than the original virus, that’s really not a great idea right now,” said Ackermann, who was hired only three months prior to the pandemic. “Plus, with Omicron right now, it’s difficult to identify the symptoms early enough.
“We’ve heard from people that they think they have a little bit of the flu or a bad head cold, and pretty often they tested positive for the virus,” he said. “There have been times when people have sworn up and down that it’s just a cold, but then they tell us everyone in their house is sick. Sure, that’s possible, but in a case like that, the best thing to do is to go get tested.”
Booster After Booster
One year ago, the Pfizer/BioTech vaccine was approved for emergency use by officials of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and public inoculations began in mid-January. Based on data, those same scientists strongly suggested this past summer a third shot widely known as a “booster” was necessary for people wishing to be as protected as possible.
The DHHR’s Covid dashboard reported Thursday in Brooke and Marshall counties 49 percent of the residents are fully vaccinated. Ohio County recorded 67 percent, which is 6 percent higher than the state average. Those statistics coupled with the mutating nature of a coronavirus are reasons why Ackermann expects another booster soon will be necessary.
That’s because the world is waiting for pharmaceutical scientists to develop a double-dose scenario connected to the annual “flu shot.”
“I really don’t know if we’ll live another day without Covid-19. That’s why I feel it’s going to be endemic, and that means we’ll be dealing with this virus every single year,” Ackermann said. “It is very likely that we’ll have boosters for people six months after they received their first one, and after that, it’s likely it will be combined with the annual flu vaccine.
“It will depend on what the pharmaceutical companies are able to develop, and it depends on the number of vaccinations,” the public health official added. “We have been encouraging our residents here in Marshall County to get vaccinated since the shots became available, but so far only about half of our residents have done that. I hope to see that improve in 2022.”
