Buncombe County Government, NC Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates, 13 Apr 2021

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From YouTube: COVID-19 Community Update (April 13, 2021)

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COVID-19 Community Update for April 13, 2021. For more information about COVID-19 or local vaccinations you can visit buncombeready.org.

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Hello and welcome to the april 13th community update my name is stacy wood and I'm a public information officer here at buncombe, county health and human services. Today we have dr jennifer mullendore here with us to provide the most recent covet 19 update for buncombe county, and so we will go ahead and get started with an update from dr mullendore before we get started. I want to remind the audience that this is.

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This broadcast is available in real time in spanish, on the buncombe county, health and human services, facebook page at bchhs and we'll go ahead and get started with dr.

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Good afternoon it's been a while, but I'm back today, standing in for buncombe county public health, director stacy saunders who's unable to join us this week.

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From that very first case we identified in march 2020 until today there have been sixteen thousand eight hundred five confirmed, coveted 19 cases in buncombe county residents.

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Sadly, 311 of our neighbors friends and family members have died from this illness. During that time, we continue to see relative stability in the data that we follow. Each week we have seen 27 to 28 new cases per day on average for the past two weeks.

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This means the number of new cases per 100. 000 population also has remained relatively stable during that time today. That number is 73 cases per 100 000..

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The percent of tests coming back positive for covid remains relatively stable at 4.2 percent. It has fluctuated between 4 and 4.4 percent. Over the last several weeks.

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Hospital data shows that inpatient beds occupied by individuals with covet 19 increased slightly during this last week, but overall still remains relatively flat, just as the health director has stated in prior updates, I will stress that, while our indicators are not increasing, it is still important that we pay attention to this continued leveling off.

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We can get these numbers down further if we are vigilant about the three w's getting tested and getting vaccinated, please, if you are experiencing symptoms, get tested for covid19 testing is available at ab tech on sundays, via starmed, more information on testing via starmed can be found at.

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Www.Starmed.Care other testing locations can be found on the north. Carolina find my testing place website.

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It remains important to continue to wear a mask and keep our distance from others in public places, and we, when we are around people from outside our household, and it is always critical to wash our hands to reduce the transmission of many germs.

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As a reminder, anyone 16 years of age and older now can be vaccinated against covid in north carolina.

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The pfizer vaccine is the one specifically approved at this time for use in those 16 to 18 years of age, hospital partners, local health departments, federally qualified health, centers community health, centers pharmacies and many others throughout our region now have coveted vaccines since late december, buncombe, county health and human services and our partners and emergency services have administered thousand four hundred eighty nine doses of covet vaccine.

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As of now, almost one hundred one thousand people or thirty eight point. Six percent of buncombe county residents are at least partially vaccinated against coven and over seventy thousand five hundred. Seventy or twenty seven percent of our population are fully vaccinated.

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Buncombe county vaccine events recently included a partnership with the mexican consulate, an ongoing vaccination of individuals who are homebound in conjunction with meals, on wheels and mission health partners, paramedics.

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We have also provided vaccine in the local detention center and in partnership with organizations who serve the unhoused population.

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We have vaccinated people who are well over 100 years of age and we have vaccinated hundreds of people under the age of 20 since the beginning of april.

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We encourage you to get vaccinated if and when you have the opportunity and with many providers in our community offering vaccine your opportunity is now to schedule your first dose of cove vaccine with buncombe county visit, buncomberready.org or call.

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828-419-0095 vaccines aren't just an effective way to protect ourselves and those we love from covet 19, but they will help us get back to the doing the things we love to do and allow us to safely be around those who we care about.

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However, even with a vaccine, it is important at this time that we all continue to follow the three w's every day we are increasing the number of those in buncombe county who are vaccinated, but we still have work to do.

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I want to take a little time today to talk about the announcement made this morning by the food and drug administration and the cdc they recommended a pause in the use of the johnson, johnson or j and j covid19 vaccine due to six reported cases in the united states of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine.

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We expect more information from the fda and cdc in the coming days, but here is what we know so far of the nearly 7 million people who have received the j j, covid covid19 vaccine in the united states, six women between the ages of 18 and 48 experienced a rare type of blood clot in the brain, along with having low levels of blood platelets.

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The symptoms in these women occurred between 6 to 13 days. After getting the j and j coveted vaccine, one woman has died and one woman is in critical condition the fda cdc and the cdc's independent advisory committee. The advisory committee on immunization practices are all reviewing these cases and determining the next steps.

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There are no concerns about this type of blood clot in people who receive the pfizer or moderna vaccines.

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This type of blood clot is treated differently than other blood clots, and this pause and the use of the j j vaccine was made out of an abundance of of caution.

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During this time, experts at these agencies will be reviewing the data from the six cases and working with partners to help health care providers, learn the signs and proper treatment of this type of blood clot in combination with low blood platelets.

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If you received the j and j covid19 vaccine within the last three weeks and have severe headache, abdominal pain, leg, pain and or shortness of breath, please contact your health care provider or seek medical attention immediately.

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Please note that it is common to experience mild to moderate symptoms, including fever, headache fatigue and joints or muscle pain during the first week after receiving any covid19 vaccine.

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These side effects usually start within three days of getting the vaccine and should only last a few days the bottom line.

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This is a sign that the vaccine safety monitoring system is working well, it was able to find a rare, serious adverse event that happens in less than one in a million people.

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It is only associated with the j and j covid19 vaccine, not the pfizer or moderna vaccines.

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When we first launched our vaccine waitlist, there was a very high level of demand for vaccine, but a much smaller supply.

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Recently, as vaccine has become available to essential workers and younger age groups, we have seen a decline in the demand for vaccine.

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However, we we are still seeing about 2 200 appointments being made per week in our first dose vaccine clinic. Please know that vaccine is available and we want everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated.

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The more of us who are vaccinated the stronger our shield of protection against coveted 19 is, and the safer we all are, as the demand for vaccine has changed since the early prioritization groups. We want to make the public aware that we are reducing our call center hours to match the current demand.

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If you want to make a vaccine appointment or have a covid related question, you can call the ready team between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm monday through friday. You can also make an appointment through the online scheduler at buncomberready.org.

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We also are transitioning back to providing briefings only at the bi-weekly board of commissioners, pre-meeting updates, starting next week. These are held every other tuesday at 3 pm on the day of commissioner's regular meetings.

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Thank you and stay safe.

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So, thank you all for tuning in today, uh just as a reminder to reiterate what dr mullen door just announced, we will be back next week at 3 p.m. On facebook live on the buncombe county government, facebook page and in simultaneous spanish on the buncombe county health and human services, facebook page at bchs.

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Until then, please continue to practice the three w's and get that vaccine. If you, if and when you are able to thank you.