Exhausted Diers remains undeterred

Jan. 22—OTTUMWA — There was a time recently, probably more than one, when Lynelle Diers questioned whether almost 30 years in public health really made a difference.

The crude, profane phone calls from citizens about the seriousness of COVID-19 are one thing, and they sting, even almost two years into the pandemic. But the small victories in getting just one person started on a series of vaccinations are quite another.

Diers, the Wapello County Public Health Clinical Director, is tired and wants the pandemic to be over. From her seat in the Wapello Building, it's not, so her work is still unfinished.

"Each person is a victory, and a lot of times it's not doing it for yourself," Diers said of vaccinations against COVID-19. "You do it for the people around you. You do it for potentially the mom and dad that you have that are over 80 years old. You do it for the children that could be immune-compromised.

"So that's what I'm asking people to do now," she said, "let's protect the most vulnerable population and be part of the solution, not part of the problem."

The omicron variant is the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States, but not in Wapello County, Diers said. Delta is still rearing its head and driving up infection rates.

When the vaccines were first rolled out early in 2021, there was much more demand than supply from the senior citizen population that was eligible to receive it. However, almost like a light switch, the demand tapered off; currently, Wapello County has about an 80% fully-vaccinated rate among its seniors.

"The older population has lived through some of the viruses, like the polio epidemic," Diers said. "With polio, it was paralysis, and even those that survived post-polio symptoms got to be 80 years old. And it took 40 years of vaccinations to eradicate that. With hepatitis B you can end up with some liver issues.

"There's no disease that isn't without potentially some long-term effects," she said. "People try to make a big deal, but this is our history and we've got to learn to deal with it because covid is here to stay."

Diers said this is the worst virus she's seen in her time in public health.

"We've had swine flu, bird flu," she said. "But it's not even close."

Running the public health department has been a challenge in itself during the pandemic, but there were warning signs before then. On a large scale, the country's nursing shortage is at a crisis level. Diers has had turnover in the department, and volunteers and contract nurses helped weather the initial onslaught of the pandemic.

However, Diers is more frustrated because she believes public health's credibility has been "put on the line," largely by forces outside her control.

"I feel like we do a lot of good within the community," she said. "And we have really worked hard to try to meet the needs of the community. I can't help what people are hearing on TV. The mainstream media has not really been our friend because they keep people revved up."

She also believes the pandemic is "the pandemic of the unvaccinated," but even the vaccinated will get the virus, and may get it more than once because of the different strengths of the variants.

However, if there is resistance to the vaccines, which is happening everywhere, the only real option is to wear a mask; even vaccinated people are recommended to wear one.

"Personally, I mask up every time I am outside my home," she said. "If I'm grocery shopping, I have a mask on. In our office, everyone must be masked. And if people think it's fun wearing masks or face shields, I'm here to say, 'You know, we're very tired of it.'"

The stories are heart-wrenching for Diers, but are part of the reason why she continues on.

"I'll never forget a weekend I was doing follow-ups from home, because I was working seven days a week, month after month after month," she said. "I call to do this follow-up. The spouse answered, and I said, 'Can I speak to so and so?' And they're like, 'Well, no.' I asked why, and they're like, 'Well, the funeral is Monday.'

"If you're not vaccinated, wear a mask to protect yourself and others around you. What else can I say? I'm so ready for it to be over," she said. "I love this job, but it's been very devastating to watch the death numbers go up, up, up. Because if it wasn't for COVID, they may still be alive today."

— Chad Drury can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com, and on Twitter @ChadDrury