Doctors provide COVID-19 update; urge flu shot vaccinations
At Albany Medical Center, doctors from six Capital Region hospitals convened for a press conference recently. It marked the first time leaders from the respective medical institutions made an address together since April.
The doctors addressed the COVID-19 pandemic and bracing for a second spike in cases. They also encouraged Capital Region residents to get their flu shots. Ellis Medicine Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. David M. Liebers suggested a “full- court press” of people needing to obtain their flu shot vaccinations.
The medical professionals also warned against pandemic fatigue and people letting their guard down with a lack of mask-wearing, lax hygiene, and lack of social distancing with indoor gatherings as the weather turns colder.
Additionally, the doctors also highlighted a “shadow pandemic” of people neglecting to get their screenings and preventative care for other potential ailments for fear of going to their doctor’s office and contracting the coronavirus.
At the briefing, Albany Medical Center Executive Vice President for System Care Delivery and Hospital General Director Dr. Fred Venditti remarked that since March, 660,000 Capital Region residents have been tested with 9,500 positives. Additionally, 18 children have been hospitalized thus far. Plus, there has been 342 deaths total in the Capital Region due to COVID-19 as of Wednesday.
As of Thursday, according to Albany Medical Center President and CEO Dr. Dennis P. McKenna, 80people are hospitalized in Capital Region hospitals.
Additionally, 14 people are hospitalized at Albany Med with six in the ICU and one patient on a ventilator. On a positive note, five people with COVID-19 were discharged from Albany Medical Center on Wednesday and no one has been admitted to the hospital with the flu yet.
On Thursday, McKenna and Venditti recapped and shared their thoughts on the aftermath of the briefing.
“A lot has changed since April and we went over all of the things that had changed as far as testing, as far as prevention, as far as therapeutics,” McKenna said.
“I thought it was really good. I thought we brought the community up to speed on what’s happened. So we had that big peak, very rapid, it’s come down, now it’s slowly starting to go back up,” Venditti remarked on charting the course of the virus from the spring to the fall.
McKenna also reiterated the message of resolve and continuing to remain smart and steadfast in mitigating the spread of the virus.
“What we said yesterday is our message is one of resilience, not fatigue. One of cooperation, not competition and it’s one of preparedness, not fear,” McKenna explained.
“These are important messages to get out not only to our workforce but the community that says that if the numbers continue to go up we have a plan, we’ve already executed on that plan inthe past and we would be happy to do the same things again if we had to,” McKenna noted on howthe hospital is prepared to handle a potential surge in cases.
“We continue to talk every Wednesday morning amongst 12 institutions. We continue to share information. We will share both clinical protocols and other important aspects of dealing with Covid as we go forward. We’re going to act like a regional system,” Venditti added on the constant coordination between area hospitals in containing and treating patients for the virus.
Venditti also reiterated the importance of people obtaining their flu shots in order to prevent the spread of further illness.
“So we’re entering the flu season. Back in the spring, flu was almost gone by the time Covid hit. Sowe didn’t have to dealwith essentially two illnesses that can present looking very similar. So it’s really important that the community out there get vaccinated,” Venditti noted.
“If that’s a significant number of people, perhaps we’ll have a very light flu season. So if Covid does start to surge as we expect it might, we won’t have to sort out what’s really going on with those patients. Flu vaccine, it’s available, it’s not 100% [effective] but it does mitigate the symptoms if it doesn’t prevent the flu,” Venditti further explained.
In addition, Venditti spoke to the full- scale effort of not only Albany Med but other regional hospitals to get their employees vaccinated with the flu shot. The goal is to protect their healthcare workers and in turn their patients.
“We’re actually mandating [flu shots] for our employees, which started last year, and guess what? A number of other hospitals in our region are doing the same thing. That means 35,000 healthcare workers are going to be vaccinated probably by the end of November. So a large number,” Venditti remarked on their vaccination goal.
“It sets an example for the community. Starts us down the right path. Most importantly it underscores what we’ve been saying here, healthcare is safe for you. We’re focusing not only on the safety or our employees but the patients we treat by doing the vaccinations we’re going to be doing,” Venditti added on the importance of getting vaccinated with your flu shot.