Community News

 

ASHEVILLE, NC – February 1, 2022 – There is a trend downward to the pre-holiday season COVID-19 community levels. The CDC reports that the community level for Buncombe County is low for the week ending January 23rd. Almost one-half of the counties in North Carolina are low. More than two-thirds of the counties in the U.S. are at a low level with less than 4% of the counties at a high level.

The Buncombe County COVID-19 metrics are on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard. Data from the week ending on January 21st indicate:
• Last week’s total cases are down 24% from the previous week.
• 68% of the total population have received their initial vaccination series.
• 31% of people with their initial vaccination series have had the updated booster.
• The seven-day daily average of COVID-19 hospitalizations has decreased 29% since last week, and of ICU patients has decreased by 36% from the previous week.

An updated COVID-19 booster is now available for eligible persons 6 months and older. It is more effective at protecting against severe illness and death from the new variants. Eligible persons must have the initial vaccination series and be at least 2 months after any prior COVID-19 shots. The CDC advises delaying the booster 3 months for people who recently had COVID or after a positive COVID test if they were asymptomatic.

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:
• Stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines and the updated booster.
• People with any COVID symptoms should get tested
• People who are positive for COVID-19 or do not feel well should stay home

For a county at a low community level, like Buncombe County, the CDC recommends:
• If you are at high risk for getting sick, wear a high-quality mask in a public indoors space and take additional precautions.
• If you plan on being with someone at high risk for getting sick, consider self-testing for COVID-19 infection and wear a high-quality mask when indoors with them.

Vaccination sites and testing sites can be located through the North Carolina and Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services.

The updated booster shot is available at the Department of Public Health Coxe Avenue vaccination clinic, pharmacies, community health centers and rural health clinics.

 

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 – January 20, 2023 –

Dear Representative Edwards:

As my elected representative to the House, I have been impressed with your strong work ethic. However, in the recent Asheville Citizen-Times interview by Joel Burgess, you said that (quote) there is a {sic} an awful lot of hysteria being built around climate change right now. Statistics that I see regularly are that we’ve not seen the earth’s surface change over the last 100 years more than a degree. And that leads me to proceed with caution.(unquote) The newspaper added a clarification from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce) that the earth’s surface temperature is actually 1.90 degrees Fahrenheit (or 1.06 degrees Celsius) warmer than the average between 1880-1900, which corresponds to the rise of industrialization in America. Therefore, your statement is true if you meant one-degree Celsius. However, the air temperature is commonly reported as degrees Fahrenheit in the U.S. so this assertion can cause much confusion depending on the interpretation of the temperature scale.

Even though a one-degree Celsius increase in the average earth surface temperature might seem inconsequential, the difference for life on earth could be huge. Scientists caution that for every tenth of a degree of average temperature rise, the environmental impact gets worse with an increase in the number of extreme events and health-related catastrophes. The average surface temperature has been trending upward at an alarming rate since the 1960’s. In fact, the 10 warmest years in all recorded history have occurred since 2010. At the current rate, the average surface temperature of the earth will increase by 2 degrees Celsius (or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100.

Most scientists predict a number of devastating environmental catastrophes will occur when the increase in the average global surface temperature is 1.5 degrees Celsius. Warming of the oceans will cause melting ice with rising oceans and flooded cities. Warmer air carries more moisture in it which leads to more extreme weather events resulting in more precipitation and flooding. More heat waves mean more drought and starvation.

Climate change is defined by scientists and should be understood by politicians so that appropriate management can result in appropriate policies in order to best serve the health and welfare of the people. Now is the time to educate each other about the science behind climate change so that people don’t respond with hysteria (a behavior exhibiting overwhelming or unmanageable fear or emotional excess) about this issue. ‘Time is of the essence.’

Regards,

Dick Needleman, M.D., M.P.H.
Health Reporter, 103.3 Asheville FM
Retired orthopedic surgeon

 

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 – January 18, 2023 – The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health and well-being of college students, faculty and staff at colleges while bringing its importance to the foreground. In response, a health promotion program, called the Student Health Ambassador (SHA) program, was created more than a year ago to provide education and support locally. The program was led by the University of North Carolina Asheville (UNCA) and involves Brevard College, Mars Hill University, Montreat College, Warren Wilson College and Western Carolina University.

The project has been funded by 2 grants from the Dogwood Health Trust private foundation. The initial grant for the 2021-2 academic year was nearly $490 thousand. The most recent grant for this academic year is for almost $175 thousand. Dozens of students have served as public health ambassadors at the 6 college campuses. The program is run jointly by the NC Center for Health and Wellness (NCCHW) at UNCA and the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC).

The program uses peer support, peer education and other outreach methods to promote student health. It started out by teaching best practices for reducing the spread of the coronavirus. During the height of the pandemic, the student ambassadors were involved in COVID testing, delivering meals and providing human connection to classmates in quarantine and isolation. Sometimes, this meant hand-written notes and at other times workout guides. Now the program has to deal with the after effects of the lockdowns on campus and the disruptions in learning. The mental and emotional health of students, faculty and staff have been impacted by isolation. As told to the WNC magazine last month, Amy Lanou, executive director of the NCCHW at UNCA, said that the program will “support the achievement of each individual’s full health potential, build resilience, and support well-being among students, employees, and their communities.” In addition, health disparities in the adjacent communities will be addressed.

The new grant will fund a new Community Health Needs Assessment for each of the 6 college campuses. This will be known as the WNC Collaborative Network for Campus-Community Peer Support and Health Education project. By using the surveys, the SHA will be able to better prioritize the community’s needs and address any gaps.

The SHA program will continue to support the student’s mental health and well-being through health promotion and public health endeavors such as building community resilience and expanding the workforce.

 

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 – January 25, 2022 – There is a trend downward to the pre-holiday season COVID-19 community levels. The CDC reports that the community level for Buncombe County is low for the week ending January 16th. Almost one-half of the counties in North Carolina are medium. Most of the counties in the U.S. are at a low level with about 6% of the counties at a high level down from almost 14% last week.

The Buncombe County COVID-19 metrics are on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard. Data from the week ending on January 14th indicate:
• Last week’s total cases are down 31% from the previous week.
• 68% of the total population have received their initial vaccination series.
• 31% of people with their initial vaccination series have had the updated booster. An increase of 1% from last week.
• The seven-day daily average of COVID-19 hospitalizations is unchanged since last week, and of ICU patients increased by 25% from the previous week.

An updated COVID-19 booster is now available for eligible persons 6 months and older. It is more effective at protecting against severe illness and death from the new variants. Eligible persons must have the initial vaccination series and be at least 2 months after any prior COVID-19 shots. The CDC advises delaying the booster 3 months for people who recently had COVID or after a positive COVID test if they were asymptomatic.

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:
• Stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines and the updated booster.
• People with any COVID symptoms should get tested
• People who are positive for COVID-19 or do not feel well should stay home

For a county at a low community level, like Buncombe County, the CDC recommends:
• If you are at high risk for getting sick, wear a high-quality mask in a public indoors space and take additional precautions.
• If you plan being with someone at high risk for getting sick, consider self-testing for COVID-19 infection and wear a high-quality mask when indoors with them.

Vaccination sites and testing sites can be located through the North Carolina and Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services.

The updated booster shot is available at the Department of Public Health Coxe Avenue vaccination clinic, pharmacies, community health centers and rural health clinics.

 

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

 

WASHINGTON, DC – January 9, 2023 –  On December 14^th, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that the agency will consider regulating gas stoves after its emissions were linked to respiratory illness. The CPSC is an independent federal agency that develops safety standards, conducts research and works to make products safer. Recent studies have identified that gas appliances and stoves emit nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and fine particulate matter that have been linked to respiratory illness, heart disease, cancer and other medical problems. According to Richard Trumpa, Jr., a CPSC commissioner, the agency will be putting out a formal request in the spring for public information on hazards that are linked with the use of gas stoves and for ways to reduce risk.

Curbing the use of gas stoves can reduce the amount of methane emissions from leaks. Gas stoves burn natural gas, which is comprised predominantly of methane, a greenhouse gas. The annual methane emissions from gas stoves in the U.S. are estimated to be equal to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of one-half million cars.

Almost 13% of U.S. childhood asthma cases are associated with having a gas stove in the home according to a peer-reviewed study in the December issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. This illness is more frequent in children of color and those living in low resource neighborhoods. The study was performed by RMI, an environmental think tank. Childhood asthma is a leading cause of emergency department visits, hospitalizations and missed school days.

Improving indoor air quality can reduce the incidence of childhood asthma. New York City, San Francisco and Seattle have banned all gas stoves and appliances from new residential construction. However, gas stoves are still used in about 35% of American homes. The recent Inflation Reduction Act promotes a transition from fossil-fuel burning appliances and cars to clean technology like electricity. It offers tax credits, electric appliance rebates, and subsidies to cover other conversion costs. Rob Jackson, a Stanford University gas stove researcher said, “No child should have asthma from breathing pollution from gas stoves when safer electric options are available.”

A gas stove needs to operate with an adequate ventilation system that removes the noxious emissions from the kitchen before they are inhaled. Indoor emission concentrations can rise to unsafe levels if the ventilation system is inadequate or not operating when the stove is on.

A gas appliance ban has drawn criticism from Republicans and natural gas industry supporters. Most of the arguments are business-related and critical of the science behind the studies. Restaurant groups feel that certain foods taste better when cooked with gas. The hotel industry feels that its laundry costs are cheaper with gas appliances.

 

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