Seeing red again: COVID high in area

May 31—Four of 120 Kentucky counties are considered COVID-red as the calendar turns to June 2022.

Three of them are nestled right here in northeastern Kentucky — Boyd, Greenup and Lawrence. Of the 21 yellow counties, seven — Menifee, Rowan, Morgan, Elliott, Carter, Martin and Pike — are in eastern Kentucky.

The other 95 counties are green.

Why such a high rate in this region?

A couple of area health department directors weighed in, both offering the best answers they could as they stopped short of a sure solution.

Chris Crum, of the Greenup County Health Department, said when people in the state view it, they see red counties in this corner, but, he said, one must consider the entire tri-state area.

"When you compare to a good portion of West Virginia, there's a significant amount of red and yellow counties there also, so it's more of a regional issue," Crum said. "With that said, southeastern Ohio doesn't look that bad right now."

Crum said numbers are, though, creeping up across the commonwealth.

The best prevention method, he and Carter County's Jeff Barker said, is getting vaccinated. They both understand masking isn't popular, especially two and a half years into the pandemic, but it's still a viable option. Practicing good sense and hygiene are as well.

Greenup County's health department reported 50 cases over Memorial Day weekend. Carter's recorded 46.

The newspaper was unable to reach Boyd County's Matthew Anderson as of press time.

The Lawrence County (Ky.) Health Department posted 24 cases from May 17-23. It hasn't issued a release on its Facebook page since then.

Barker said testing rate could be a factor in this region, too.

"I think what you're seeing, too, is a lot of people come in thinking they just have allergy problems and end up testing positive for COVID," Barker said. "Mild COVID cases often mimic allergies symptoms."

Carter County has a 55% fully vaccinated rate (two shots of Moderna or Pfizer OR one Johnson & Johnson shot). It has administered several boosters, Barker said, and is still offering vaccines.

Greenup County's rate is 52.7%, but it's significantly better (77%) for the age bracket of 65 and older.

Barker said a good deal of the latest cases are in people over 20. Crum said it's pretty spread out, in terms of age, in Greenup.

Crum said King's Daughters Medical Center's location could be a factor in the statistics as well. He also said local health departments are diligent in their reporting.

"I think our reporting here is excellent," Crum said. "We have great quality health care, and people are willing to go seek treatment here more than they might in more rural areas.

"A significant portion of the state goes underreported," he said, chalking it up to home test usage.

"People are requested to report themselves, but we don't think all of them are being reported to the health department," Crum said.

Said Barker: "I think it's just the nature of it. You have peaks and valleys in all viruses, so I think we're back up into a peak now."

Both stressed the importance of vaccines.

"We want people to get vaccinated," Crum said, "and for people to protect those around them that could be higher risk. That's our best bet. That's how we're going to function in society."

According to Kentucky Public Health guidance, people in red-level communities are recommended to wear well-fitting masks in all indoor public setting, and are recommended to limit indoor in-person gatherings and reduce the size of gatherings while encouraging physical distancing.

(606) 326-2664 — asnyder@dailyindependent.com