March 13, 2022
United States: Cumulative Cases: 81,169,534, Cumulative Deaths: 993,693
World: Cumulative Cases: 457,563,393, Cumulative Deaths: 6,064,407
Benton County Health on Next Stage of the Pandemic
On March 11, Benton County Public Health Director/Administrator April Holland and Benton County Public Health Officer Carolina Amador published a letter to the community on the next phase of the pandemic at the county level in light of the lifting of the statewide indoor mask mandate.
“The majority of our community has the protection afforded by COVID-19 vaccination, with 72.5% of the county population fully vaccinated,” the letter reads. “Of those currently eligible in Benton County, 66% have received a booster dose. Strong community support for vaccination, masking, and other precautions has had a significant impact throughout Benton County. Together, we have reduced the number who have fallen ill, kept people out of the hospital, and worked diligently to support the most at risk among us.”
The letter claims that, for these reasons, the county is in a safe position to lift the universal masking order, but acknowledges that “we are not powerless against COVID-19 in an environment without required universal masking, and our collective risk decreases with lower community transmission.” As such, the Benton County Health Department encourages everyone to continue to make decisions based on individual risk as well as the risk of those with whom they engage in their households, work environments, and other circumstances.
Additionally, the county will continue to ensure availability and access to Covid vaccination, testing, and treatments, as well as high-quality masks and other protective measures for community members who are most at risk. Those who are immunocompromised, unvaccinated, have underlying health conditions, or are age 65 or older are urged to continue wearing masks in indoor public spaces.
“Benton County and the Oregon Health Authority will also continue monitoring the situation around COVID-19, reviewing the impact new developments have on our communities and assess if any future public health measures need to be considered.”
Read the full letter here.
March 12, 2022
Benton County: New Cases: 4, Cumulative Cases: 14,946, Cumulative Deaths: 64
Oregon: New Cases: 380, Cumulative Cases: 699,362, Cumulative Deaths: 6,869
Before Departing with Masks, Public Health Says to “RSVP”
Now that Oregon’s indoor mask mandate has officially been lifted, many people across the state are indubitably feeling ready to let the face masks drop. However, public health officials have been sharing guidance that they urge everyone to consider before completely letting their guard down in public places.
Lane County Public Health said that before engaging socially, folks should “RSVP” – which stands for “Risk, Symptoms, Venue, People”, according to spokesperson Jason Davis.
Considerations for Risk including assessing your vaccination and booster status, as well as whether you’re immunocompromised. In other words, be mindful of what your own risk level is.
For Symptoms, Davis says it bears repeating that if you are sick – stay home.
Questions to consider for Venue include, “Where are you going to be? Shoulder to shoulder at a concert? Working in tight quarters?”
Regarding People, Davis said, “Really know who you work with. Also, [know] who’s in your household and what their risk level is.” Consider, too, the risk level of others you might be directly and/or indirectly interacting with.
At the individual level, taking a moment to “RSVP” can help inform decisions about whether to don a mask or not. As for businesses, Lane County Public Health has other guidance for business owners and employers to consider in their policy decisions on masking.
One of these considerations is the quality of ventilation in businesses. Another is the potential crowding of unmasked people; health officials recommend adjusting the space accordingly to reduce this risk.
Davis added that employers should discourage their employees from coming to work sick.
“Please, if you are a business, allow for your employees to take the time they need to protect your overall workforce,” he said. “It’s going to pay dividends not only for that individual but for everybody in your workforce.”
By Emilie Ratcliff
March 11, 2022
Benton County: New Cases: 25, Cumulative Cases: 14,942, Cumulative Deaths: 64
Oregon: New Cases: 418 , Cumulative Cases: 698,982 , Cumulative Deaths: 6,854
As the state continues toward 700,000 cumulative cases, there were an additional 54 deaths yesterday. One of those lost was from Benton County.
Masks on Mass Transportation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have set a date for the end of the mask mandate on planes, trains, and buses.
This mandate had been set to expire on March 18, but CDC has decided to extend it by another month until April 18. The extension will allow public health agencies develop appropriate strategies for long-term policies concerning Covid.
The CDC is also creating a “revised policy framework” to implement for when masks should be required in the future.
By Sally K Lehman
Vaccination Should Take Away Fear – But What If Your Child Fears Vaccination?
What do you do when your child develops a phobia about injections? Especially in a time when there are so many more vaccinations required, and when the media is full of frightening misinformation, often spread deliberately by ideologues eager to use children in political stunts?
Fortunately, there is also a lot of new literature, based on studies of children and adults who have developed trypanophobia – a fear of needles – to help people overcome a fear of vaccination and join the majority who are now safer from Covid-19.
The options fall mainly into three broad categories: distraction, bribery and sensory manipulation.
A very small child who is afraid of being vaccinated can be distracted from the moment of injection with the sight of a toy, a cartoon on a screen, or even soap bubbles in the air. An older child may be distracted by a chance to play a video game.
Bribes of various kinds can be offered to persuade a child to co-operate depending on their age and interests, ranging from stickers to a treat to a toy, gift certificate, or money.
While distractions and bribes are good, the most inventive method is sensory manipulation.
A vaccination is a very small pain, which a person might not even notice depending on the circumstances – it’s largely the ritual of exposing the skin, cleaning it, and the needle approaching which makes vaccination such a troubling experience. So, if the sensation can be altered by changing the conditions around it, the disturbing experience can often be reduced.
Treatments which can help with this include washing the injection site ahead of time with warm water, clenching the muscle under it very tightly and then relaxing it before giving the injection, and placing a studded plastic object called a “shot blocker” around the injection site so that the many small points will mask the entry of the single point of the needle.
No one of these techniques will work for every child, and some children will remain phobic no matter what techniques are applied, but having different methods available can make vaccination less difficult for most people for whom this is challenging.
By John M. Burt
March 10, 2022
Benton County: New Cases: 14, Cumulative Cases: 14,917, Cumulative Deaths: 63
Oregon: New Cases: 437 , Cumulative Cases: 698,564 , Cumulative Deaths: 6,800
Oregon had another 28 deaths from Covid yesterday; one of those who died was from Benton County.
Covid and Deer Populations
Pair of whitetail deer cautiously grazing in the hill country of Texas.
From the beginning of the pandemic, there have been signs that the white-tailed deer would be highly susceptible to the Covid virus. Last November, scientists found an explosive spread of Covid in the white-tailed deer population in the U.S. with at least 40% of those tested having the antibodies in their systems.
In Pennsylvania, researchers tested 93 dead deer. During their research, they found that the deer they nose-swabbed had not died from Covid but rather from hunting or being hit by vehicles. Of those tested, 20% had Covid. The City of Philadelphia positivity rate for humans at the same time was around 3%.
What variant did the deer have? Of the total sample of deer tested, eight had high enough quality to use genome testing. While some deer had the Delta variant – the primary variant of concern at that time, others resembled the Alpha variant – the first variant of concern in the human population. Researchers also found a few dozen mutations to the viral genetic sequence.
Additional research in other areas found deer in Ontario with Covid as well. In those tests, approximately 6% had strains that have been in the human population since 2020 – predating Alpha, Delta, and Omicron. The samples included 76 mutations with 23 of them not previously seen in the deer population. One of the mutations was also found in an infected person.
To date, the question of how the deer might have come in contact with the virus is still unknown. It is possible that infected humans fed a deer at some point, or that a deer drank infected wastewater.
No concerns if you are a hunter. Covid infected venison is fine to eat as cooking destroys the virus, as does stomach acid.
By Sally K Lehman
March 9, 2022
Benton County: New Cases: 16, Cumulative Cases: 14,903, Cumulative Deaths: 62
Oregon: New Cases: 352 , Cumulative Cases: 698,127 , Cumulative Deaths: 6,772
Although the numbers look better today than they have in quite a while, 29 Oregonians still died from Covid yesterday.
Tracking the Vaccine
In the largest vaccination campaign in the history of the world, we have seen over 10.9 billion doses of Covid vaccine be administered across 184 countries during the last year – roughly 139 doses for every 100 people. At last count, approximately 22.3 million doses are injected into arms each day. At this rate, the world will need another nine months to reach the magic number of 75% with at least one dose.
The regions doing the best in inoculating their populations are Cuba with 310 doses per 100 people, the United Arab Emirates with 261 doses per 100, the U.K. with 208 doses per 100, the E.U. with 196 doses per 100, and the U.S. with 168 doses per 100.
The state of Oregon is doing especially well with 176.4 doses per 100 people.
As we step away from the Omicron variant’s surge, the promise of the vaccines has been kept – preventing severe illness and reducing hospitalization and death by over 90%.
By Sally K Lehman
March 8, 2022
Benton County: New Cases: 22, Cumulative Cases: 14,887, Cumulative Deaths: 62
Oregon: New Cases: 1,058 , Cumulative Cases: 697,775 , Cumulative Deaths: 6,743
Over the weekend, there were 22 new cases of Covid in Benton County, with no new deaths. The state saw an added 1,058 cases and 34 new deaths.
Covid Becomes Endemic
Throughout the state, we’re looking at ways in which this pandemic will become endemic – much like the common cold or flu season.
One thing many are looking at ways to incorporate into their daily lives will be masks, which will no longer be mandated as of this Saturday, but which can be used to stay safe from other sicknesses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have come out with encouragement to hold onto your reusable masks for flu season in particular. Also, while the Omicron surge is behind us, there will be new variants as we continue to learn to live with the coronavirus.
Covid and Brain Damage
According to NBC News, recent studies have confirmed that a Covid infection – even a mild one – can result in “subtle tissue damage and accelerated losses in brain regions tied to the sense of smell, as well as a small loss in the brain’s overall volume… Having mild Covid is also associated with a cognitive function deficit.”
The study considered brain scans taken before and after Covid infections. Another important aspect of the study was that the majority of those participating had “mild” Covid – the most common form of the virus.
The study found that the loss of brain volume is comparable to a year of normal aging, meaning that the damage is possibly reversible.
This study comes out of the U.K. where the universal healthcare system allowed researchers access to tens of thousands of MRI scans done prior to the pandemic. This allowed them to contact 401 people between 51 and 81 who had Covid to come back for another MRI five months after contracting the virus.
By Sally K Lehman
March 7, 2022
United States: Cumulative Cases: 80,917,522, Cumulative Deaths: 984,020
World: Cumulative Cases: 446,611,495, Cumulative Deaths: 6,019,434
This past week not only pulled the worldwide Covid death toll over the 6 million mark, but also saw an additional 10,968 deaths in the U.S.
On the whole, Oregon is faring better than many other states, with a current overall virus rate of 16 cases per 100k people which is down by 65%.
Hospitalizations Fall, Masks Remain
The decline in hospitalizations of patients with Covid has been more rapid than forecast but state officials say they are leaving mask mandates in place for another week. Read the full story here…
By Lynne Terry or Press Partner Oregon Capital Chronicle
Community Vaccination Events
Corvallis
Location: Lincoln Health Center, 121 SE Viewmont Ave
Every Monday in March, from 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Every Wednesday in March, from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Every Friday in March, from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Oregon State University
Location: SEC Plaza
Every weekday March 7 to March 18, from 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Monroe
Location: Monroe Health Center, 610 Dragon Dr
Every Tuesday in March, from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 10 and 24, from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Alsea
Location: Alsea Health Center, 435 E Alder St
Thursday, March 3, 17, and 31, from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com