‘PANDEMIC FATIGUE’
Health officials to launch marketing campaign targeting condition
Michiganders have been fighting the COVIDpandemic for ten months.
That’s why, on Tuesday, Oakland County public health officials will encourage residents not to give into “pandemic fatigue” by launching “The Only Way To Beat It Is To Face It,” a public education campaign that will reinforce federal, state, and local health safety guidelines to include wearing face masks, maintaining social distancing, and washing hands. The formal announcement will be made at 10:30 a.m.
“Pandemic fatigue” is the idea that as the pandemic continues to wear on, some people will get tired of taking the necessary coronavirus safety precautions to help slow the virus’ spread.
On Monday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Robert Gordon, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), and Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, MDHHS chief medical executive, announced the extension of the state’s three-week epidemic order through at least Dec. 20. The order has prohibited in person dining, halted in person learning at high schools, colleges, and universities, restricted indoor and outdoor gatherings, and closed entertainment venues.
State public health officials say more time is needed to observe the impacts of the Thanksgiving travel on COVIDspread across the state before considering a slow reopening of the state. The key reopening metrics being observed by those officials include: the COVID-19 case rate, number of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and the state’s testing positivity rate.
In Oakland County, there have been 51,468 confirmed cases of COVID-19 1,354 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, according to MDHHS data.
Making the announcement will be David Coulter, county executive; Michael Spisz, a county commissioner who recently recovered from COVID-19; Leigh-Anne Stafford, county health officer; Kelly Miller, clinical nurse specialist at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland hospital in Pontiac; and Lomas Brown, Detroit Lions commentator and retired NFL player.
The county’s campaign will be funded using fed
eral CARES Act dollars and include public service announcements and social media outreach by community influencers.
On the vaccine front, the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine candidates are expected to receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization later this month before being distributed, quickly, to states for distribution to hospitals and long-term care facilities. Both of the vaccines will require two doses, spread weeks apart, and freezer storage.
Oakland County has purchased 10 ultra- cold freezers to store the vaccine, which will be positioned throughout the county. Once the vaccine becomes more widely available, county public health officials will administer the vaccine at new testing sites in Holly, Rochester, Southfield, Pontiac, and Lyon Township.
Khaldun said the state will initially receive a very limited allocation of the vaccine, which will require public health officials to further prioritize who will get the vaccine first. CDC guidance has included the first priority groups as frontline health care workers and nursing home residents.