ASHEVILLE, NC – August 16, 2023 – Buncombe County (BC) schools are getting ready to reopen for the 2023-24 school year. Be aware that classrooms are breeding grounds for spreading disease-producing germs between the students.

According to data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC HHS), obtained from the Asheville Citizen-Times through a public records request, kindergarten students in BC (which include Asheville city students) had the 4^th highest vaccination exemption rate for religious beliefs of the 100 North Carolina counties in 2022. The average rate was 5.4%, more than double the statewide average of 2.3%. Each of these students has an exemption to at least one of the required vaccines.

BC kindergarten students who attended private schools in 2022 had the highest student vaccination exemption rate for religious beliefs than either county public or charter schools. The private schools had an almost 20% religious exemption rate. This has decreased from more than 22% three years earlier. In contrast, the religion exemption rate for charter schools was almost 7% and for public schools was just over 3% in 2022. Since 2019, the exemption rate for children who attend public schools has remained about the same, while the charter school rate has fluctuated between 13% to its present value.

In order to enter kindergarten, each child must have between 1-5 doses of 9 different vaccines for 11 diseases. The BC HHS recommends immunizing school age children to protect themselves and others from communicable childhood diseases like measles, whooping cough, meningitis and chicken pox. Communities with high rates of exemptions are at risk for outbreaks for these vaccine-preventable diseases. Unvaccinated children are at higher risk to come down with or spread a vaccine-preventable disease. This can result in missed schooldays for children and missed workdays for parents who must take care of their sick child.

According to North Carolina law, there are 2 types of exemptions from the required immunizations. These are medical and religious. BC has less than 1% of students with a medical exemption for the past 5 years. In order to file for a religious exemption for a student, the parent must send a letter to the school stating the religious objection to immunization in lieu of providing an immunization record. These statements do not need to be signed by a religious leader or sent to the state for review.

Immunizations are a shield of protection against vaccine-preventable disease for the child and for all contacts, like family members, teachers and the community. NC law requires all children have age-appropriate vaccinations for 11 diseases before they are allowed to attend school, unless they have an exemption. All public, private and religious schools are required by state law to report the immunization status of all children enrolled in school to the NC HHS.

Your doctor, school nurse or the BC immunization clinic will be able to answer any of your questions about immunizations. Vaccination is available at your doctor’s office and at the BC Immunization Clinic at 40 Coxe Avenue.

 

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

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ASHEVILLE, NC – August 23, 2023 – The COVID-19 metrics are on the CDC’s COVID Dashboard.

• For the week ending on August 12^th, hospital admissions are at a low level in every county in North Carolina and about 97% of the counties in the U.S. Buncombe County’s COVID-19 hospitalizations have decreased
• For the week ending on August 12^th, there were fewer than 10 deaths due to COVID last week in North Carolina, the lowest level of 6 groups.
• Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are low in North Carolina for the week ending on August 12^th, the 2^nd lowest level of 5 groups. Although they have increased by 25% from the previous week.

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data for the week ending on August 9^th is on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard.

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at an orange level representing the 4^th highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 60^th and 80^th percentile relative to the past level measured at the same site.
• The 15-day rate of change of number of viral gene copies in each water sample is increasing from the previous week, between 1 to 9%, the lowest positive rate of change from 3 levels.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wants everyone to know that:

• COVID-19 can affect people differently. Some people have mild symptoms like a cold and others have more severe symptoms like a bad case of the flu. Some effects can be long-lasting.
• Older adults and immunocompromised people are at a higher risk of developing severe illness and being hospitalized.

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:

• Stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines
• For extra protection, wear an efficient medical grade mask
• People who are positive for COVID-19 or do not feel well should stay home
• People with any COVID symptoms should get tested
• If you test positive, your doctor may recommend medical treatment

Most Americans have developed some immunity to COVID-19 from immunizations and previous infection. New variants continue to infect people with the most at-risk groups more susceptible to severe illness.

An updated COVID-19 vaccine will be available at the end of September which targets one of the current versions of the omicron strain. This may be the first of the annual fall shots for COVID-19, similar to the yearly fall shots available for the flu. Most respiratory viruses, like the flu and COVID-19, increase in the winter when people are indoors and travel during the holiday season. Covid-19 can also spike during the warmer summer months because people head indoors to air-conditioned spaces. Dr. Mandy Cohen, the new Director of the CDC, expects that people will get their annual COVID-19 shot at the same time as their flu shot at pharmacies and at work.

As told to the Asheville Citizen-Times on August 10^th, Dr. Jennifer Mullendore, the Buncombe County Health and Human Services Medical Director, said, “COVID is part of our lives. It’s not going away any time in the near future. We just need to have a healthy respect for it and take appropriate action.”

 

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