Public Health: COVID 'new normal'

Nov. 8—VALDOSTA — The vast majority of COVID-related infections and deaths continue in the unvaccinated or under-vaccinated, Dr. William Grow reported to county and city officials, as well as state legislators, at the district legislative breakfast last week.

The South Health District director said multiple surges and 540,000 break-through cases have plagued the state since its first case early 2020, and the health department's strategy for combating it will be similar to treating the flu by encouraging citizens to get vaccinated and get an annual booster.

"I think COVID will be with us from now on. We will treat it like any other illness, like the flu, and take measures to stop the spread...one way we can do that is by getting vaccinated," he said.

The SHD reported that Georgia, as of Aug. 24, has had 2,923,959 cases of COVID, with 75,653 of those cases affecting the ten district SHD serves: Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Tift and Turner counties.

40,696 deaths have been reported throughout the state and 821 of them taking place in the SHD.

16,468,777 doses of the COVID vaccination shot has been administered across the state since its inception, and 6,037,442 or 58% of Georgia residents are fully vaccinated, falling below the national average of 68.4%.

The number of positive COVID results reached its peak around the Dec. 15, 2021-Feb. 15, 2022 90-day window, with results nearing 5000 across the SHD.

Grow said while he was proud of the district department's response to COVID, they will shift their focus to getting children six-months and older vaccinated to decrease hospitalizations and long term effects of COVID, otherwise known as "Long COVID". These and regular boosters will help protect the community as a whole through herd immunity, where a large portion of the population is immune to the disease.

He noted that vaccinations and test kits will be available and administered by:

* Public health facilities

* Pharmacies

* Private healthcare providers

* Vaccination sites

* At-home test kits

Lisa Thomas, district county nurse manager, further detailed the SHD's direct response to the pandemic, which she described as a "all-hands-on-deck" and "boots on the ground" approach.

"Everyday we came in, we got tested. When I say tested, I mean the basic screenings we had to do. We put our masks on. It was socially accepted that we could no longer come together, we had to stay in our offices, and for the ones that like to carry the information, that was a challenge, but they learned how to master it on virtual...we were empowered by all departments to transition to this workflow," she said.

Kristin Patten, SHD public information officer and risk communicator, said this type of response is what led to the district adopting their "Stronger Together" slogan to keep up morale and remain vigilant in educating the community and keeping them healthy.

Kim Davis, county nurse manager, echoed those same sentiments in her presentation, reporting that Lowndes County Health Department in particular provided 13,757 services since Dec. 2020 by testing and vaccinating residents "in the rain, in the heat, and pushing grocery carts".

"This was the beginning of Operation Warpspeed: the vaccines brought many people in the community to the health department that had never been there before. Many clients expressed gratitude to our staff for their hard work and patience... we learned we can, together, do anything with a positive attitude, which is contagious," she said.

To learn more about COVID-related services, visit www.southhealthdistrict.com.