Health experts discuss COVID-19 response
Yuba-sutter health officials answered questions from the public and the AppealDemocrat during a recent COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall held at the Adventure Church of Yuba City.
Local experts included BiCounty Health Officer Dr. Phuong Luu, Sutter County Epidemiologist Dr. Robert Herrick, and Yuba County
Director of Public Health Dr. Homer Rice.
Q: In terms of mental health, how are local residents handling the situation? Any assessment you can make of our mental health as a community and what we can do to keep ourselves up?
Luu said mental health is an important part of one’s overall medical health. As social beings, many are experiencing quarantine fatigue, including herself. She encouraged others to take care of themselves and continue to find ways to stay active while also adhering to health tenets, as well as socializing virtually with friends and family.
Q: What’s the toughest part of being a contact tracer/ investigator? What’s life like for your team?
Rice said on one hand, the job is rewarding in that you are helping people. On the other hand, it can be frustrating because some residents ignore calls or are belligerent with his team members. They are even running into issues now where people don’t believe contact tracers are who they say they are when they call.
Every person his team can’t reach could potentially result in another person contracting the virus. It’s been a seven-daysa-week job since February, he said, and it begins to wear on team members. All in all, he said, it’s a mixed bag.
Q: For each case you encounter, how many people would you guess you contact?
Rice said it varies by case.
For one case, it might require 10 calls, but there have also
been cases, he said, that required 30 calls.
Q: What do we know about the long-term effects of the virus? What if this pandemic lasts for a long time?
Rice said society has already begun changing its social norms that might not ever go back to normal – like the use of facial coverings, refraining from hugging or shaking hands, or keeping one’s distance while speaking with others. He’s hopeful a vaccine is developed that can prevent outbreaks from popping up every year, though if some don’t take the vaccine, it will likely continue.
Luu agreed that changes have already been made, and those health tenets must be remembered or else society won’t be prepared for the next pandemic. She said the virus itself will also cause lingering effects to those who contract it, though experts are still working to figure out those impacts.
Herrick said the most important thing is for residents to continue adapting to overcome the situation. He’s hopeful that when the flu season begins, many of the lessons residents have learned help prevent people from getting a cold, flu or pneumonia.
Q: Isn’t COVID-19 pretty much like the flu? Why don’t we have contact tracing for the flu?
Herrick said COVID-19 is not like the flu – it’s about seven times deadlier. The reason there aren’t contact tracers for things like colds, flus and pneumonia is because those aren’t considered an emergency. The flu should also be taken seriously though, he said.
Rice said health experts also track what’s happening with the flu.
But when comparing the two, he said, approximately 184,000 people in
America have died due to COVID-19 over the past eight months – more than the total number of people who have died due to the flu over the last five years.
Q: Are you strongly encouraging residents to get the vaccine this year? What will that do for us?
Luu said taking the vaccine will prevent a twin-demic (both the flu and coronavirus). She said the community is already dealing with one pandemic that is straining community resources, and a second outbreak due to the flu could increase the stress on the system.
Q: What’s the average percentage of people getting a flu vaccine a year?
Luu said it depends on the age group. The 65-and-older group typically comprise a higher percentage. She said the vaccination is safe for children 6 months and older and adults.
Herrick said getting a flu shot can both protect a person from getting the flu and also reduce the severity of the virus, which can be very important when there are concerns of a twin-demic.
Q: Are face masks as effective as you say they are? Do they protect me or others?
Luu said scientists are still learning about the virus on a daily basis, considering it has only been around since
2019. Early on, health officials were basing their decisions and assumptions on past coronavirus experiences. As studies have progressed, that’s led officials to make recommendations and strongly advocate for the public to wear facial coverings in public. It’s not a form of protection rather than a form of source control. It protects those around the person by preventing the spread of infectious respiratory droplets.
Q: What do we know about immunity build ups from people who have had the virus?
Luu said not a lot is known currently about how long a person’s immunity lasts after contracting the virus. Based on current knowledge, scientists believe a person could be immune for the first 90 days, though there have been a couple of prominent cases where a person was reinfected.
Final remarks:
Herrick said the community has worked hard to protect itself throughout the ongoing pandemic, evident in its case fatality rate, which is one-third of the state average. He said it’s been inspiring to see the work people have put in locally to address the problem. He also credited the community for their continued donations to various organizations and efforts.
Luu said residents should keep in mind that the community as a whole is working toward the same goal. She encouraged residents to look out for each other. She credited the community for its generosity and ability to adapt to the ever frustrating situation.
Rice reminded residents that the ongoing pandemic will be a marathon and not a sprint. He said one benefit to result from the situation has been the collaboration seen amongst health care providers in the area.