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ASHEVILLE, NC –  March 20, 2024 – The CDC’s COVID Dashboard for the week ending on March 9^th shows:  

• Hospital admission levels are low in 95% of the counties in North Carolina, including Buncombe County, and high in 0%. They are low in more than 95% of the counties in the U.S. and high in less than 1%. Admissions have decreased in the U.S., North Carolina and Buncombe County from the previous week.
• About 4% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 3^rd highest level of 6 groups.
• Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are low in North Carolina. This is less than 2% of all ER visits, the 2^nd lowest level of 5 groups

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard for the week ending on March 6^th shows:

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at an orange level representing the 2^nd highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 60^th and 79^th percentile relative to the past level measured at the same site.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample has decreased from the previous week, between -99% to -10%, the lowest level of 2 groups for a negative rate of change.

The CDC’s weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending on March 9^th indicates that North Carolina is at a low level.

The North Carolina Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard for the week ending on March 9^th shows that

• The percentage of emergency room visits for people with respiratory virus symptoms has decreased.
• COVID and flu hospital admissions have decreased
• There were more COVID admissions than flu.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

ATLANTA, GA – February 28, 2024 – On February 28^th, a CDC advisory panel of experts and CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen recommend that seniors ages 65 years and older ‘should’ receive an additional updated 2023-24 COVID-19 vaccine dose. Seniors will be eligible 4 months after their last COVID shot. People ages 65 and older have the highest hospitalization and death rate from COVID-19 than any other age group. More than 95% of hospitalized patients with a COVID infection had not been up-to-date with the vaccine. The updated vaccine has been shown to reduce the rate of severe illness and death and to reduce the infection rate by 50%. Over the past 3 years, COVID-19 infections have surged in the winter and in August.

In September, the CDC recommended the updated COVID-19 vaccine for everyone over 6 months and older against the newer variants this fall and winter. The agency has recommended additional vaccination for immunocompromised people for better protection. However, protection has waned in seniors if they got a fall vaccine dose. Therefore, an additional dose of the updated vaccine this spring should restore protection against severe COVID illness and against a projected surge in August.

The COVID-19 vaccination rate has continued to decrease with every new vaccine recommendation. According to the CDC, 42% of Americans 65 and older have received the updated COVID vaccine. However, the vaccination rate is much lower for adults (22%) and children (13%) in the U.S.

Dr. Cohen said in a statement, “Most COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations last year were among people 65 years and older. An additional vaccine dose can provide added protection that may have decreased over time for those at highest risk.”

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

RALEIGH, NC – March 1, 2024 – The latest update of the NC Medicaid Expansion Enrollment Dashboard was on March 1^st. Last month, enrollment in NC increased by almost 39 thousand to more than 385 thousand people. Buncombe County enrollment increased by more than 1,000 to almost 9,700 people. When the COVID national emergency ended in April, the first Medicaid expansion (ME) enrollees lost their full-benefit Medicaid insurance because they made too much money. However, NC HHS enrolled them in a limited Medicaid benefit plan that provides family planning benefits before advancing them back to Medicaid after the expansion on December 1^st. There were about 270 thousand North Carolinians, including more than 6 thousand people from Buncombe County, who became the first automatic enrollees. It is estimated that a total of 600 thousand North Carolinians will be eligible for ME, including almost 17 thousand from Buncombe County. Based on these estimates, there is about 200 thousand more North Carolinians and 7 thousand more people from Buncombe County who can qualify. In only 3 months of accepting applications, the state and Buncombe County are more than 60% of the way to enrolling all eligible persons for ME.

On December 1^st, North Carolina officially became the 40^th state to expand Medicaid, the federal program for health insurance for low-resource individuals. ME increases health care access to eligible North Carolinians ages 19-64 and their families with earnings to 138 percent of the federal poverty level from 100 percent, based on their household size. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) dashboard to track ME enrollment is at medicaid.ncdhhs.gov/reports.

There are many ways to apply for NC Medicaid. Applications can be taken by phone, email, fax, or in person. Buncombe County residents can apply for Medicaid online and at any time at ePASS.NC.gov. Applications can be done in-person at the HHS Building on 40 Coxe Avenue, by calling 828-250-5500, or by mail. A printable application can be obtained online at the NCDHHS website.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

ASHEVILLE, NC –  March 13, 2024 – The CDC’s COVID Dashboard for the week ending on March 2^nd shows:  

• Hospital admission levels are low in more than 90% of the counties in North Carolina, including Buncombe County, and high in 0%. They are low in more than 95% of the counties in the U.S. and high in less than 1%. Admissions have decreased in the U.S. and North Carolina and are unchanged in Buncombe County from the previous week.
• About 3% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 3^rd lowest level of 6 groups.
• Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are low in North Carolina. This is about 2% of all ER visits, the 2^nd lowest level of 5 groups

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard for the week ending on February 28^th shows:

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at a red level representing the highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 80^th and 100^th percentile relative to the past level measured at the same site.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample has increased from the previous week, between 1% to 9%, the lowest level of 3 groups for a positive rate of change.

The CDC’s weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending on March 2^nd indicates that North Carolina is at a moderate level.

The CDC reported that the 3-week average for the percent positivity for RSV PCR tests in North Carolina for the week ending on March 2^nd shows that it continues to decrease to below 2% for the past 3 weeks.

The North Carolina Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard for the week ending on March 2^nd shows that

• The percentage of emergency room visits for people with respiratory virus symptoms has decreased.
• COVID and flu hospital admissions have decreased
• There were more COVID admissions than flu.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

UNITED STATES – March 10, 2022 – Sunday March 10^th is the time to advance our clocks one hour in accordance with Daylight Saving Time and to upset our natural biologic clock. Daylight is longer in the summer and shorter in the winter the further you are from the equator. During the summer months, daylight may extend to the early morning hours when most people are still sleeping. Moving the clocks forward one hour lets us wake up in the morning when the sun rises and have an extra hour of daylight for outdoor leisure activities after the traditional workday.

Daylight Saving Time begins on the second Sunday in March at 2 am. People lose an hour of sleep during the changeover. Clocks are turned back one hour to Standard Time on the first Sunday in November in the fall. That’s when people get an extra hour of sleep. Most states follow Daylight Saving Time including North Carolina. Only Hawaii and parts of Arizona do not. Most countries in North America and Europe have adopted Daylight Saving Time during the summer months.

Our natural biologic clock is affected by changes in light and darkness. Fatigue and health problems can occur from sleep loss up to a few days after the spring time change. The body’s processes of sleep, being awake, digestion, and immune function are affected. There are more hospital admissions due to heart attacks, strokes and irregular heartbeat. Other health problems include more fatal car accidents, mood swings and seasonal depression.

A person will better adjust to a new light/dark cycle by minimizing changes to their day/night rhythm. Some suggestions are to go to bed earlier for a few days before the changeover. After the time change, get some natural sun light upon waking up.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour