Category Archives: Covid-19

CHARLESTON, W.Va. Active COVID-19 cases dropped for a 17th straight day in new case numbers released Tuesday by the state Department of Health and Human Resources.

Active cases are now at 20,047, a 610 case decrease from Mondays report. Hospitalizations have increased by 27 to 465 patients. Its the first increase in hospitalizations since Jan. 19.

The state did confirm three additional COVID-19 deaths including a 61-year old male from Berkeley County, a 64-year old male from Harrison County, and an 82-year old male from Monongalia County.

Overall pandemic-related deaths are at 2,031.

The DHHR confirmed 510 new cases Tuesday. The daily positivity test rate is at 5.33%.

There are now 12 counties that are designated red on the COVID-19 daily alert map. 27 are the next level down at orange, nine are gold, five are yellow and two are green.

More than 196,000 state residents have received at least one COVID-19 shot. There are nearly 71,000 residents who have been fully vaccinated.

Overall confirmed cases per county include: Barbour (1,117), Berkeley (8,993), Boone (1,446), Braxton (746), Brooke (1,920), Cabell (7,167), Calhoun (214), Clay (358), Doddridge (416), Fayette (2,417), Gilmer (592), Grant (1,003), Greenbrier (2,268), Hampshire (1,400), Hancock (2,495), Hardy (1,223), Harrison (4,512), Jackson (1,576), Jefferson (3,366), Kanawha (11,169), Lewis (863), Lincoln (1,134), Logan (2,457), Marion (3,381), Marshall (2,838), Mason (1,671), McDowell (1,265), Mercer (3,937), Mineral (2,510), Mingo (1,944), Monongalia (7,153), Monroe (887), Morgan (883), Nicholas (1,063), Ohio (3,415), Pendleton (583), Pleasants (775), Pocahontas (561), Preston (2,433), Putnam (3,872), Raleigh (4,216), Randolph (2,230), Ritchie (568), Roane (466), Summers (677), Taylor (1,027), Tucker (460), Tyler (577), Upshur (1,506), Wayne (2,405), Webster (259), Wetzel (1,014), Wirt (329), Wood (6,563), Wyoming (1,615).

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DHHR: Active COVID-19 cases down, hospitalizations increase for first time in 2 weeks - West Virginia MetroNews

The Davis campus opened its COVID-19 vaccine clinic for employees Monday afternoon (Feb. 1) and is now taking appointments for people who qualify for vaccinations in Phase 1A of the government-specified allocation plan.

Supply is limited. The campus received 500 doses of Moderna vaccine this week and expects the same number next week, said Cindy Schorzman, medical director of Student Health and Counseling Services.

The clinic in the Activities and Recreation Center Ballroom is an alternative for employees who otherwise should look to their health care providers for COVID-19 vaccinations. For example, UC Davis Health runs a clinic for its own patients. But, if your opportunity for vaccination at UC Davis comes earlier than it does at your health care provider, then you can make an appointment at the Davis campus clinic, though you will have to wait until your turn in the allocation system.

Appointments can be arranged through the Health-e-Messaging (the same portal used to make COVID-19 testing appointments). At your vaccination appointment, you will be required to show personal identification and proofyou meet the eligibility criteria.

Phase 1A is for health care workers and others whose job duties put them at greater risk for contracting the virus. The list includes Aggie Public Health Ambassadors and employees who work directly with infected people in Occupational Health and Student Health and Counseling Services, veterinary medicine, police and fire, and Student Housing and Dining Services (employees who support the campuss quarantine and isolation facilities). COVID-19 researchers also are included in Phase 1A.

Next will come Phase 1B, Tier 1: employees and students who are 75 and older. Keep checking the UC Davis COVID-19 Vaccine Program webpage to see when you are eligible. Note: The distribution system is subject to change, based on evolving guidance from local and state public health officials and as directed by the UC Office of the President.

The first batch of vaccine from Moderna arrived at the Activities and Recreation Center at about 4 p.m. Monday. Inside, Yolo County public health staff had already begun training campus Fire Department personnel including firefighters and student emergency medical technicians to give the vaccinations.

The firefighters and EMTs practiced injections using empty syringes then opened the clinic. No appointments had been scheduled, because the timing of the vaccines arrival had been uncertain so the first doses went to testing kiosk employees who had been called in, avoiding any wasted doses.

Changes are coming to the Daily Symptom Survey when it moves to the Health-e-Messaging portal this Friday (Feb. 5).

The survey as originally configured responded with Approved or Not Approved messages for access to campus facilities. Friday, the survey will respond with one of four color-coded statuses as detailed in this chart:

Accessing the survey: Go through Health-e-Messaging or continue using the buttons on theDaily Symptom Survey webpage.

Once you complete the survey, you will receive an email confirmation with detailed information about facility access and any additional items related to your survey status. If approved to access campus facilities, you will be required to show your approval notice upon entry.

This transition is the first step in a process to connect COVID-19 testing and flu vaccination data with the Daily Symptom Survey. Campus visitors, contractors and other temporary campus affiliates will still use the visitor version of our Daily Symptom Survey.

Monday (Feb. 1), the campus added a Reporting COVID-19 button to the home page of theHealth-e-Messaging portal. The button is for employees and students, who arerequired to report to the campusif they receive a confirmed positive COVID-19 test result or a COVID-19-positive diagnosis from a physician, or if they are advised by an outside/community case investigator that they are a close contact of a COVID-19-positive person.

The button will take you to a reporting form, which also be used to submit questions or concerns about members of the campus community having COVID-19.

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COVID-19 Roundup: 1st Vaccinations Given; Symptom Survey to Add Color-Coded Status - UC Davis

Even after accounting for other known risk factors, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, a study found that Black and Asian patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were more likely to need mechanical ventilation and more likely to die than white patients.

Previous research suggests that people from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are at greater risk of severe COVID-19 and are more likely to die from the disease.

However, the evidence is inconsistent on whether socioeconomic inequality, genetics, underlying health risks, comorbidities, or a combination of these factors, are responsible.

Stay informed with live updates on the current COVID-19 outbreak and visit our coronavirus hub for more advice on prevention and treatment.

For example, studies show hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and smoking increase the risk of COVID-19 severity and mortality.

Researchers can face difficulties when teasing apart these influences. Especially when they analyze data encompassing several regions that differ in their ethnic and socioeconomic makeup, and how the epidemic has unfolded.

A major study, which focused on a single, ethnically diverse region of the United Kingdom that was badly affected in the first wave of the pandemic, attempted to address some of these uncertainties.

The researchers at Queen Mary University of London and Barts Health National Health Service (NHS) Trust analyzed data from 1,737 patients aged 16 years and over with confirmed COVID-19 who received care in five hospitals in East London between January 1 and May 13, 2020.

Of these, 511 (29%) died 30 days later.

Compared with white patients, after adjusting for age and sex, Asian patients were 54% more likely to be admitted to intensive care and receive mechanical ventilation, while Black patients were 80% more likely to need the same treatment. BAME patients also tended to be younger and less frail.

After accounting for age and sex, Asian and Black patients were 49% and 30% more likely to die, respectively, compared with white patients.

These trends persisted in the Asian patients even after the researchers made adjustments for other known risk factors, including smoking, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease. In Black patients, the general trend remained the same after adjusting for these factors, but the result was no longer statistically significant. The authors suggest this might be due to a smaller sample size of Black patients.

Their analysis appears in BMJ Open.

As the impact of COVID-19 continues to be seen within our community, the importance of responding to the ethnic disparities unmasked during the COVID-19 pandemic is crucial to prevent entrenching and inflicting them on future generations, says Dr. Yize Wan, one of the study authors.

Dr. Wan is a lecturer at Queen Mary University of London and a registrar in intensive care medicine and anesthesia at Barts Health NHS Trust.

The authors note that in their cohort of patients from this part of London, all ethnic groups experienced high levels of deprivation.

[H]owever, worse deprivation was not associated with higher likelihood of mortality, suggesting ethnicity may affect outcomes independent of purely geographical and socioeconomic factors, they write.

Research in the United States provides conflicting evidence on whether race, per se, is a risk factor for COVID-19 mortality.

A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, for example, found that racial differences in hospitalization and mortality rates persisted after controlling for sociodemographic factors and underlying health conditions.

By contrast, a study reported by Medical News Today found that while Black and Hispanic people accounted for more than half of all COVID-19 hospital deaths, there were no significant racial differences in mortality rates after accounting for clinical and socioeconomic factors.

The latter studys authors attributed the overall increase in mortality among Black and Hispanic people to disparities in healthcare, among other factors unrelated to genetics.

With the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, poor access to healthcare could further exacerbate racial differences in the pandemics impact.

In a recent audio interview with The New England Journal of Medicine, Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed concerns that people of color are not getting equitable access to vaccination.

Dr. Fauci explained that we do not want to be in a situation where most of the people who are getting it are otherwise well, middle-class white people.

You really want to get it to the people who are really the most vulnerable, he added. You want to get it to everybody, but you dont want to have a situation where people who really are in need of it, because of where they are, where they live, what their economic status is, that they dont have access to the vaccine.

The authors of the new study from the U.K. note that their retrospective data, which they gathered from medical records, did not differentiate between more fine-grained ethnic categories, such as Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Black African, and Black Caribbean.

They continue:

Indeed, the descriptive term BAME itself is particularly crude, and we recognize its limitation. Despite its size, our study lacked the power to assess a more detailed ethnicity breakdown.

In particular, they caution that their analysis of data relating to patients of Asian ethnicity is likely to have been skewed by the large Bangladeshi community in this part of London.

They note that this community faces specific socioeconomic and healthcare inequalities.

For live updates on the latest developments regarding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, click here.

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COVID-19: Why are Asian and Black patients at greater risk? - Medical News Today

HARLINGEN, Texas (KVEO) The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals is decreasing across Texas, but not in the Rio Grande Valley.

Eleven of the Trauma Service Areas (TSAs) in Texas are now under the high hospitalization threshold defined in Governor Greg Abbotts Executive Order GA-32.

Thats down from 17 of the 22 back on January 8.

On February 1, 711 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 in the Rio Grande Valley. That represents nearly one-third of all patients in local hospitals.

[The number of hospitalizations] hasnt dropped as fast as everybody would have hoped, said Dr. James Castillo, Cameron County Health Authority.

In fact, it hasnt dropped at all. The percent of COVID-19 patients in hospitals in the Rio Grande Valley has hovered around 20 percent for pretty much the entire month of January. Its like a plateau at the top of a hill, added Castillo.

According to the DSHS hospitalization data, the Rio Grande Valley was one of only two TSAs to have a higher percentage of people with COVID-19 in the hospital at the end of the week than at the start. The other was TSA U, which is centered around Corpus Christi.

The Rio Grande Valley has the second-highest rate of COVID-19 patients out of total hospital capacity in the entire state.

The TSA with the highest rate of COVID-19 patients out of total hospital capacity is TSA T, which is centered around Laredo.

The RGV has taken measures to help reduce the number of new cases.

For one thing, counties were required to reduce capacity to businesses as a result of having high hospitalizations.

Additionally, over 135,000 in the Rio Grande Valley have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the DSHS excel sheet you can view below.

Both of those factors have helped reduce the number of new cases. Fewer new cases mean fewer people who will potentially need to be hospitalized.

I would hope to see the number of discharges start exceeding the number of new admissions by quite a bit, said Dr. Castillo. And that trend would need to continue for a few weeks to see a huge change.

It can take a few weeks for COVID-19 patients who require hospitalization to become stable enough to be sent home.

Because the RGVs apparent peak in COVID-19 cases was so recent, people who were hospitalized as a result are not yet stable enough to be discharged.

Unlike in the Summer of 2020, when the Rio Grande Valley was one of the first major COVID-19 hotspots in the country, it seems that here in the Valley, this time, we were running a few weeks behind in the surge, said Dr. Castillo.

Hospitals are still toeing the line of being overburdened, so people need to be extremely cautious going forward.

Its about adjusting that level of risk to try and lower it as much as possible, said Dr. Castillo.

Here are the latest emergency orders from the four counties:

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Rio Grande Valley has second-highest rate of COVID-19 hospitalization in the state - KGBT-TV

TRI-CITIES, Tenn. (WJHL) As local counties work to get through phases of Tennessees COVID-19 Vaccination Plan, all but Sullivan County have moved on to vaccinating teachers.

Educators were moved to Phase 1b in Tennessees vaccination plan in late December, with the hopes of keeping classrooms open. But even if they choose to get vaccinated, it might not help to ensure staffing.

They still will need to be quarantined if they are exposed to a positive case, said Washington Co., Tennessee Schools Director of Coordinated School Health, Kelly Wagner. The vaccine is 95% effective and hopefully will help people from getting the disease, but if they do get the disease it will hopefully keep them from being in the hospital and having serious side effects.

Wagner also said the different strains of COVID-19 are a concern that would still require vaccinated teachers to quarantine if exposed to positive cases.

The most recent guidance on reopening schools and quarantine protocols from the Tennessee Department of Health was released in August.

News Channel 11 reached out to the Tennessee Department of Health asking if those who have received both doses still have to quarantine if they come in contact with someone who has COVID-19.

A spokesperson for the department said CDC guidance still states quarantine is necessary.We do anticipate a change in that guidance and await CDCs update.

However, certain critical infrastructure workers may work during their quarantine if they are masked continuously. The department of health said, This is only true for teachers where the school district has met the criteria outlined by TDH and TDOE to designate their staff as critical infrastructure.

In Sullivan County, most school nurses and school resource officers are getting their second dose of the vaccine.

That may be added to part of that assessment, but currently we do not have guidelines that address if youve had one or two vaccines, so were hoping that will come out very soon, said Diane Copas, Sullivan Co. School Systems School Health Services Director. We conducted a survey and we had a little less than 75% interested in the vaccine. I think as more people hear about it and see actual people who have taken the vaccine, I think theyre more comfortable with it.

Even if school staff choose to get vaccinated, the state and systems arent currently tracking that information.

There isnt a front end tracking process for us when it comes to staff and vaccines, its more part of the contact tracing process if an educator is deemed to be a contact to a positive case, said Kingsport City Schools Asst. Superintendent Andy True.

Even though its not required, systems are encouraging the vaccine.

If we did try to track it, it may not be an accurate number, Wagner said. Some people will voluntarily tell us that theyve got the vaccine, but we have others who may not and the numbers itself wouldnt be accurate.

Anecdotally, based on responses to emails and correspondence, school officials say interest in the vaccine is high.

We do get a lot of questions, a lot of emails from teachers, so just based on that theres a significant amount of teachers, faculty, and staff that are getting the vaccine, Wagner said.

The state tracks vaccinations through an online registry, TennIIs, but that doesnt include a persons place of employment.

On the demographic information that we collect, we do not indicate occupation, said Sullivan Co. Health Services Director, Mark Moody. So, to my knowledge, that particular thing is not being tracked by TennIIs.

Sullivan County is the only county in Northeast Tennessee that hasnt vaccinated any educators. Health officials say its because they are focusing on the elderly population first.

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Even if they get the COVID-19 vaccine, most area teachers will still have to quarantine if they are exposed - WJHL-TV News Channel 11

CLEVELAND (WJW) Cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), a rare condition that affects children typically after theyve recovered from a COVID-19 infection, have surfaced in Northeast Ohio.

The Dininger family of Ontario, Ohio, just outside of Mansfield, has been affected by the syndrome. Their son, Chase, 12, was diagnosed with MIS-C. The condition causes different body parts to become inflamed including the heart, lungs and kidneys.

We just thought it kinda was a normal flu, cold. He really didnt show anything, other than being tired, Randy Dininger, father, said. He woke up with a fever of 104. So I took him to the emergency room.

While doctors still dont know what causes MIS-C, it has been confirmed that many children with it have either had COVID-19 or were exposed to the virus.

We do see multisystem inflammatory syndromes and have seen them before COVID-19. But not the extent that were seeing them now, said Dr. Camille Sabella.

Dr. Sabella is the director of pediatric infectious diseases at the Cleveland Clinic Childrens Hospital and says symptoms for this harmful response to the virus may include fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash and feeling extra tired.

Although the syndrome is extremely rare, it can develop weeks after coronavirus symptoms clear up.

Dr. Sabella added, Many children have redness in their eyes. It almost looks like pink eye, but it is usually both eyes.

Chase described his experience, saying, It was horrible. I would lay on the couch and I would be sweating so bad.

The normally athletic child was hospitalized for 9 days in January and is now on the road to recovery after a very scary ordeal.

Chase and his mom, Corri, both had COVID-19 last year. Corri says she had symptoms, but Chase was asymptomatic.

We treated it as our parents wouldve treated a fever with us and luckily we got him up to the hospital in time, said Randy.

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MIS-C cases in children connected to COVID-19 surface in Northeast Ohio - WJW FOX 8 News Cleveland

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Black Americans have the lowest average income of any race group -- which could be linked to education and virus exposure

by: Samone Blair

(WKBN) Its Black History Month, which allows us to recognize the contributions of Black Americans and bring attention to inequalities.

K.L. Allen thinks Black History Month can teach us about the past and motivate us toward the future. He sees education as the main way to fight historic inequity.

Allen hopes acknowledging the inequities Black Americans have faced in the past can serve as inspiration for students today.

This is the time to remove some of those generational barriers, he said. This is the time to look at things different and thats what education does. Its such a great ROI because all educations not equal, just like life is not equal. So thats the parallel.

Allen hopes he and other educators can support students to work toward their goals and limit inequity in the future.

A study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics looked into income and education by race. The overall average pre-tax household income is a little over $70,000. Asian Americans have the highest income on average, whereas Black Americans have the lowest of any race group with an average of a bit under $50,000 each year.

Allen thinks this is tied to education.

The same study found about 70% of Asian American families had someone with at least a bachelors degree. That number was closer to 26% for Black families.

Allen said there are also inequities when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, we reported on the higher rate of COVID hospitalizations and deaths among people of color, but how have jobs played a role in that?

Many people have been able to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AFL-CIO said communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 because of their jobs. The union federation said jobs like meatpacking and food processing left people vulnerable to the virus.

Allen wants to support students through educational programs so they can also avoid jobs that would leave them vulnerable.

There are certain roles that will open you up more to COVID. Its proven I mean, the union shows that and so being able to work from home where you remove yourselves from COVID, a lot of the unknowns, it comes back to the education piece of the house, he said.

He thinks this more flexible working style will last past the pandemic and these educational moves will benefit students long-term.

In talking about these educational goals, Allen quoted Martin Luther King and Langston Hughes. Relating to Hughes poem, he didnt want students to let their dreams be deferred, but instead work toward making sure they explode.

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Educator brings attention to racial inequality in jobs and COVID-19 - WKBN.com

Some Oregon seniors are having trouble navigating the vaccination process. Here are the top vaccine facts for Tuesday, Feb. 2.

How to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon

As of Jan. 25., everyone in Phase 1A and group one of Phase 1B are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon. That includes:

Oregon introduced a new online tool that allows eligible residents of Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas and Columbia counties to sign up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The eligibility tool is open to everyone in Oregon to use and ask questions.

Some seniors having trouble navigating COVID-19 vaccinations in Oregon

Oregon's eligibility date for older adults to qualify for COVID-19 shots is fast approaching (February 8), and many are concerned about how they're going to get the vaccine. Attempting to sign up for an appointment has been a challenge. We reached out to state and county leaders to ask how seniors are supposed to schedule appointments for COVID-19 shots, but the state didn't respond and a Multnomah County public health official said they didn't know.

Virtual community meeting on COVID-19 gives SW Washington residents chance to air vaccination frustrations

At a virtual community meeting for residents of three counties in southwest Washington, Monday, a state health official said, "...the statewide vaccination plans are going well." It was apparent that many disagreed with her based on the comments that came rolling in shortly after.

More vaccines going to pharmacies

Starting next week, the federal government will begin sending 1 million doses per week to about 6,500 pharmacies nationwide. It's part of a plan to ramp up vaccinations as new and potentially more serious virus strains are starting to appear, the White House said Tuesday.

Update on vaccinations in Oregon

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) on Monday reported 14,693 more doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered. A total of 438,299 doses have been administered out of the 665,325 doses delivered across Oregon. Just over 80,000 people have received two doses of the vaccine, according to OHA.

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What you need to know about COVID-19 vaccines in Oregon Tuesday - KGW.com

by: Travis Meier, Matt Stewart, Nexstar Media Wire

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) Baseball games in empty stadiums could soon be a thing of the past.

Major League Baseball announced Monday that the season will start on time and a limited number of fans will be allowed in the stands for games starting at Spring Training.

Anyone going to a game this upcoming season will not need a COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination or even a temperature check. However, they will have to sit at least six feet apart from others and wear masks unless eating ordrinking. There will also be a buffer zone around dugouts, meaning no fans in the first three rows unless a team puts up Plexiglas.

Fans will also be allowed to watch as soon as Spring Training.

Before Mondays decision, the MLB discussed shortening the season by eight games and delaying the start of the season by a month. They wanted to give the country more time to get more vaccine out there.

However, the players union rejected the offer.

Teams will play a full 162 game season and revert to the same rules as before the pandemic no expanded playoffs, no seven-inning doubleheaders, no starting extra innings with a runner at second base and no designated hitter in the National League.

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Baseball will play full season with fans in stands, few COVID-19 restrictions - WANE

The health district spent over $32,000 to find ways to improve its response to COVID-19.

SPOKANE, Wash. The Spokane Regional Health District recently hired a company to conduct a survey on the agencys response to the COVID-19 pandemic from January 2020 to July 2020.

The district hired Constant Associates, which is based in California, to conduct what they call an After-Action Report. The report is meant to examine lessons learned, best practices and ways to improve when it comes to responding to COVID-19. The company compiled information from SRHD documents, an online survey with stakeholders and interviews with SRHD staff and partner organization staff. The health district spent $32,305 on the report and CARES Act funding covered the cost.

The health district said the review was done as part of a requirement for federal grant money. The report evaluated SRHD in five categories: internal and external communications, agency continuity, responder safety and health, interagency coordination and whole community partnerships. The report lists both strengths and areas of improvement in each category.

SRHD fired Dr. Bob Lutz from his position as Health Officer in late October 2020. The internal issues around the firing are not discussed in this report.

Communication with staff and the public

According to the report, in the area of internal and external communications SRHDs strength was using social media and streaming platforms to push information and interact with the public.

There was a perception that SRHD provided relevant, credible, and timely information and guidance to the public with most of the respondents agreeing (35%) or strongly agreeing (55%), the report says.

The report said an area of improvement was enhancing internal communications among all of SRHDs staff.

Cross-departmental and interagency cooperation could be improved through better communication (e.g. establishing common terminology, improving responsiveness within the chain of command, ensuring relevancy of information), the report reads. This presents an opportunity for SRHD to expand their internal communications strategy. Employees desire regular, tailored, personalized messaging from within the organization which can add to the positive health of business operations.

To improve, the report says SRHD plans to assign a deputy public information officer and an internal communications position to ensure consistent communication flows to all staff and the public in a timely manner. They also plan to make an internal communications strategy to address the various levels of staff involvement.

Timecard confusion and staff reassignments

In the area of agency continuity, the report says SRHD contacted people from municipalities, the county and regional incident management teams early in the COVID-19 response to provide surge staffing in order to maintain the delivery of essential public health services.

Approximately 130 of SRHDs 258 staff have been assigned to the COVID-19 response since it began, to help augment staffing levels for the public health response, the report says. This has allowed SRHD to activate continuity plans and procedures to remain operational even during multiple surges throughout the pandemic. It also allowed for staff to remain employed versus having to lay off staff when their grant programs were not being administered due to the restrictions, like staying home, due to the pandemic.

The report says SRHD should continue to have discussions about continuity planning to support the ongoing needs of the COVID-19 response. During interviews, the report says staff had concerns about their timecards.

Timekeeping became an issue as individuals were reassigned to the response, the report reads. Electronic timecards were a challenge to access remotely and required to be validated by program managers not by those managing staff in the ICS (Incident Command System) response. With long-term reassignments to response, upholding proper timekeeping was an administrative priority.

Staff reassignments were also met with mixed reviews, according to the report.

At first, many staff were reassigned based on the allowance of their funding streams for their day-to-day position, as well as general availability, the report says. While this worked in the short-term, it did result in several staff being assigned to roles that they did not have adequate skillsets and training to perform.

The report says before COVID-19, SRHD had not implemented a broad staff reassignment for an emergency.

Psychological, emotional support offered but staff felt overworked

The next area where SRHD was evaluated was with responder safety and health. According to the report, staff members who were surveyed were asked if the training they received before COVID-19 prepared them for the response role they were assigned. The report says 40 percent either agreed or strongly agreed, 31 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed and 24 percent were neutral.

The report says SRHDs strengths in this area were implementing health and safety procedures as well as providing emotional and psychological support services to staff.

Staff have appreciated resources for individual counseling offered by SRHD and information to support selfcare, mental health, stress management, and 24/7 emergency resources during the ongoing response, the report reads. In the set of survey questions for SRHD staff, the second-best ratings were respondents agreeing that psychological and emotional support were readily available.

However, the report found that staff moral needed to be built up by offering additional training.

Almost one-third of survey respondents indicated the training they received did not adequately prepare them and a quarter indicated they were neutral, the report says. This presents an opportunity for SRHD to not only prepare staff to respond successfully in their role, but simultaneously decrease staff stress through training improvements.

The report also found that SRHD needs to explore options for surge capacity to sustain the long-term response and reduce fatigue among staff.

Overwhelmingly, SRHD staff reported working beyond an average 40- hours per week, with some putting in 70-80 hours, the report says. Some staff remained on call, working nights, and/or responding over the weekend. Response duties frequently take time away from day-to-day responsibilities, and often there are not enough people available to provide adequate position depth. This contributes to staff feeling burned out and exhausted, but unable to fit in time off or take care of themselves. With no end in sight for the pandemic, the ability to sustain the needed response, without further impacting regular SRHD programs, was a concern for employee respondents.

To improve in these areas, SRHD plans to revise its response plans and provide additional training to staff to make sure they understand response procedures. They will also continue to search for efficiencies and solutions to address the overload and fatigue of staff. Capitalizing on existing partnerships and identification of new collaborative efforts will continue to be a priority to reduce staff burnout, the report says.

The report found SRHDs response to COVID-19 strengthened relationships with response partners.

Over 50% of 100 survey respondents agreed they had established relationships and opportunities to plan, train and exercise with SRHD, the report says.

The report found that SRHDs command and control during Unified Command was not well defined or understood.

Prior to COVID-19, SRHD had only been involved in a few coordinated community wide responses such as 2009 H1N1, 2015 Windstorm, 2016 Norovirus outbreak at House of Charity, and hazardous air quality incidents from wildland fires, the report says. The COVID-19 response was the only time SRHD has been involved in a true Unified Command structure with the county and municipalities. This resulted in some great collaborative efforts as well as some unique challenges with command and control.

SRHD plans to give additional training on things like Unified Command, Unity of Command, Delegation of Authority, Decision Making Authority and other ICS concepts, the report says.

Social justice and equity of COVID-19 response

When it came to community partnerships, the report found 64% of individuals spoke to social justice and equity issues impacting the COVID-19 response.

The health district was able to leverage partnerships to strengthen community engagement and delivery of public health services, especially when it came to helping people experiencing homelessness.

By partnering with shelters, SRHD was able to comprehend specific challenges the community was experiencing, the report reads. Ultimately, this helped inform the shelters response and the services they were able to provide. Stakeholders shared that food security for vulnerable populations became a key area of concern. The response saw the creation of a large and extensive network; including shelters, food banks, and local businesses.

The report recommended SRHD expand public and private partnerships to increase the impact of public health response and address social equity issues.

In interviews, stakeholders acknowledged that they were able to set up and engage with public and private partners across the region to address community needs, the report says. However, many expressed that these partnerships and engagements should have occurred prior or even earlier in the response.

In the report, SRHD said it will continue to find ways to engage with marginalized and disproportionately impacted populations throughout the rest of this response.

It is unclear when or if SRHD will conduct an evaluation for the rest of its response to the pandemic.

We would not have had the capacity to complete an evaluation in-house while still in the midst of response efforts, SRHD Spokesperson Kelli Hawkins said. However, its results provided great value by identifying many mid-course corrections that we were able to implement quickly to improve efficiencies and outcomes. We likely wont be contracting for another report as we dont have the funds at this time, but we will conduct one in-house in the future.

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Report reveals strengths, weaknesses during 6 months of SRHD's COVID-19 response - KREM.com