Community News

ASHEVILLE, NC –  March 29, 2022 – Buncombe County COVID-19 metrics are on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard at https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard . Data from March 29 indicate:

• There are 80 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 14 days. This is 20% less than last week.
• 66% of the total population have received their full primary vaccination series. This is unchanged from February 22.
• 58% of fully vaccinated people have received boosters. This is unchanged from last week.
• There are fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU patients over the past week.
• The risk level for Buncombe County is low for the week ending March 31 according to the
• Wastewater surveillance may provide an early warning before individual testing shows that COVID-19 is spreading. The 15-day rate of change of viral load for the Metropolitan Sewer District for Buncombe County is rising for the time period of March 9 to March 23^th according to the state website. However, the CDC website reports that the 15-day rate of change of viral load has fallen for the time period of March 13 to March 27^th. This may be predictive of a falling case rate one week later.

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:

• Get vaccinated and boosted when eligible.
• People with any COVID symptoms or exposure to someone with COVID should get tested
• People who are positive for COVID-19 or do not feel well should stay home and away from other people

Vaccination sites and testing sites can be located through the North Carolina and Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services. COVID-19 vaccinations are available at the Health Department Immunization Clinic at 40 Coxe Ave.

Save your face masks:

• The risk level may rise with a new variant
• A person at high risk for severe illness should speak with their health care provider
• Mask wearing is recommended for persons with a positive test, having symptoms, or exposure to someone with COVID-19
• Governor Cooper’s executive order requires everyone to wear a mask in “high risk” settings like health care facilities, nursing homes, correctional facilities and homeless shelters.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

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

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

ASHEVILLE, NC – March 30, 2022 – The decreasing number of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths in the United States has reduced the need for mask and vaccine mandates. However, case numbers are rising in Western Europe from a more transmissible variant of Omicron, called BA.2. A public health tool called wastewater surveillance can provide an early warning, between 3 to 7 days, before individual testing can show that COVID-19 is spreading in a particular community. Wastewater surveillance systems have been previously used to track the spread of other infectious pathogens in a community, like polio in the United States.

The CDC has partnered with local health departments to develop a system to track SARS-CoV-2 levels, the virus that causes COVID-19, in untreated wastewater samples from communities across the country. About 40 to 80 percent of people with COVID infection shed the genetic material from the virus in their feces which is transported in wastewater to treatment stations. The amount of viral load in the wastewater is related to the prevalence of COVID in a community. Changes in the viral load can be used to determine whether community infections are increasing or decreasing. Wastewater surveillance is valuable because most households (almost 80%) are served by municipal wastewater collection systems. However, homes on a septic system (common in rural communities) are not in the surveillance. Therefore, wastewater surveillance may not be accurate in North Carolina where forty to fifty percent of households are connected to septic systems.

The North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services submits the wastewater data from select wastewater treatment plants to the CDC where it is analyzed and sent back to the state. From the state website, the 15-day rate of change of viral load for the Metropolitan Sewer District for Buncombe County is falling at a range of -99% to -10% for the time period of March 2 to March 16^th. This is consistent with the community’s decreased case rate one-week later. The CDC website reports that the 15-day rate of change of viral load has dramatically risen at a range of 100% to 999% during the time period one week later ending on March 20. As reported in North Carolina Health News, Amy Kirby, the leader of the CDC’s surveillance system, commented that wastewater surveillance “data are uniquely powerful because they capture the presence of infections from people with and without symptoms.”

Wastewater surveillance can advise communities to adopt preventive public health measures before case rates rise in order to slow COVID-19 spread and to increase the medical system capacitance necessary to withstand a future surge of cases.

 

Listen to the full report below:

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

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

ASHEVILLE, NC – March 22, 2022 – At the March 15^th  Buncombe County Commissioners’ Briefing, Public Health Director, Stacie Saunders mentioned that COVID-19 briefings will be held less frequently because the rate of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are falling beneath severe levels, the presence of effective public health infrastructure of testing and vaccination, good levels of population immunity from high vaccination rates in the community and from to previous infection, and effective new therapeutics for early treatment and prevention of severe illness. These community measures indicate a reduced risk of getting severely ill although persons with risk factors of age, underlying health conditions and immunosuppression are still at high risk. At the Briefing she opined that “COVID-19 will continue to be a part of our lives going forward.”

Buncombe County COVID-19 metrics can be obtained from the North Carolina COVID-19 Dashboard at https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard .

• As of March 22, 2022, there are 101 total cases per 100,000 residents
• 66% of the total population have received their full primary vaccination series. This is unchanged from February 22 but below the goal of at least 70%.
• 58% of fully vaccinated people have received boosters. This is up 1% since last week.
• The Mountain Area Healthcare Preparedness Coalition of Western North Carolina reports fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU patients over the past week. Hospitalizations are down 45% and Adult ICU patients have decreased by 47%
• The risk level for Buncombe County is low for the week ending on March 24 according to the CDC’s new safety guidelines and prevention tool based on the level of COVID-19 risk for each county and its impact on hospital resources.

The Department of Health and Human Services recommend:

• Get vaccinated and boosted when eligible.
• People with any COVID symptoms or exposure to someone with COVID should get tested
• People who are positive for COVID-19 or do not feel well should stay home and away from other people to keep from spreading it to others

Vaccination sites and testing sites can be located through the North Carolina and Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services. COVID-19 vaccinations are available at the Health Department Immunization Clinic at 40 Coxe Ave. from Monday to Friday between 8 AM and 4:30 PM on a walk-in basis.

Save your face masks:

• The risk level may change with another new variant
• A person with medical conditions who are at high risk for severe illness should speak with their health care provider about preventive measures.
• Mask wearing is recommended for persons with a positive test, having symptoms, or exposure to someone with COVID-19
• Governor Cooper has issued an executive order requiring everyone to wear a mask in “high risk” settings like health care facilities, nursing homes, correctional facilities and homeless shelters.

 

Listen to the full report below:

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

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

UNITED STATES – March 13, 2022 – Sunday March 13 was the time to ‘Spring forward’ by advancing our clocks one hour in accordance with Daylight Saving Time and stress our bodies for weeks by upsetting our natural biologic clock that is affected by light and darkness. 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 prompting an action to move the clocks forward by one hour so we can wake up in the morning when the sun rises and have an extra hour of daylight for outdoor leisure activities after the traditional workday. Most countries in North America and Europe have adopted Daylight Saving Time during the summer months.

Fatigue and health problems can occur from sleep loss up to a few days after the ‘Spring forward’ 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. “We’ve discovered that people have about 40 minutes less sleep. Because we’re already short on sleep to begin with, the effects of even 40 minutes are noticeable,” according to Christopher Barnes, a sleep researcher, as told to Mattress Clarity, an organization that reviews sleep products and promotes sleep health.

A person will be better prepared for the time change by minimizing changes to their day/night rhythm. In a recent ABC News interview, Dr. Angela Holliday-Bell, a pediatrician and certified sleep specialist, said that “your body needs time to readjust to a new light/dark cycle.” 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

WASHINGTON DC – March 15, 2022 – The ‘Test-to-Treat’ Program is a new federal initiative so that Americans will be able to rapidly access COVID-19 treatments at the point-of-testing service. It will be administered by hundreds of pharmacy-based clinics, federally qualified community health centers, and long-term care facilities across the country. People who test positive for COVID-19 will be assessed by a qualified health care provider for immediate treatment with antiviral pills. Treatment with these new therapeutics can reduce the risk of developing severe illness, hospitalization, and death for persons with mild symptoms within days of onset.

The goal is to remove barriers to care that have historically existed for at-risk people with poor health care access. This allows for testing, assessment, prescription, and treatment to take place at one convenient location. The plan began on March 7, 2022. The testing does not have to take place at the Test-to-Treat site. Positive at-home COVID tests qualify along with assessment to receive treatment.

At the March 15 Buncombe County Commissioners’ Briefing, Public Health Director, Stacie Saunders, said that the program “is essentially building a one-stop shop.”  There are 77 federal pharmacy partner locations in North Carolina including three CVS pharmacies in Buncombe County. They are located at 612 Merrimon Ave and 11 River Ridge Dr in Asheville and at 121 Monticello Rd in Weaverville. Local federally qualified community health centers, and long-term care facilities are expected to join in the coming weeks.

The federal ’Test to Treat’ site locator is being developed and will be available later this month. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services treatment locator will also have the “Test-to-Treat” locations.

Listen to the full report below:

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

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

ASHEVILLE, NC – On March 15, the Department of Health and Human Services and Public Health Director Stacie Saunders posted the weekly Buncombe County COVID-19 Community Update. She began the briefing by saying that “our local indicators continue to improve as Omicron surge continues to fade here.”

• Over the past week there is a decrease in the new case rate by 51%, with fewer hospital beds occupied with COVID-19 patients, and a reduction in the death rate. The new case rate is 54 cases per 100,00 people per week. This is the lowest level since July 24, 2021. COVID-19 patients occupy only 2.5% of inpatient hospital beds and is in the favorable range. The percentage ICU beds with COVID patients has increased to 16.7% yet is still in the favorable range.
• Percent positivity is less at 4.7% compared to 6.5% last week.
• 66% of the total population have received their full primary vaccination series. This is unchanged from February 22 but below the goal of at least 70%.
• 57% of fully vaccinated people have received boosters. This is unchanged from last week.

The Department of Health and Human Services recommend:

• Get vaccinated and boosted when eligible. Stacie Saunders says, “COVID-19 is still circulating and will be for some time. Now is the time to get the vaccine dose you are missing.”
• People with any COVID symptoms or exposure to someone with COVID should get tested
• People who are positive for COVID-19 or do not feel well should stay home and away from other people to keep from spreading it to others

Vaccination sites and testing sites can be located through the North Carolina and Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services. COVID-19 vaccinations are available at the Health Department Immunization Clinic at 40 Coxe Ave. from Monday to Friday between 8 AM and 4:30 PM on a walk-in basis.

The CDC’s safety guidelines and prevention recommendations are now based on the level of COVID-19 risk for each county and its impact on hospital resources. The risk level for Buncombe County is low for the week ending on March 17. A person with medical conditions who are at high risk for severe illness should speak with their health care provider about preventative measures. Mask wearing is recommended for persons with a positive test, having symptoms, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 no matter what the county risk level is. Governor Cooper has issued an executive order requiring everyone to wear a mask in “high risk” settings like health care facilities, nursing homes, correctional facilities and homeless shelters.

Listen to the full report below:

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

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour