Our health care system is responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions that can harm your health

WASHINGTON, DC – November 6, 2022 – Health care is on the front line of the climate crisis, both as an upstream aggravator and a downstream healer. According to the White House, the U.S. healthcare sector is responsible for about 8.5 percent of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which contribute significantly to the climate crisis and many public health problems. Climate change can cause or worsen asthma, allergies, heart disease, mental health, malnutrition, lung cancer, and waterborne and vector-borne illnesses. Extreme weather events can disrupt health care access, delivery and supply chains. Health disparities due to race, ethnicity and low resources are worsened.

On Earth Day, April 22, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the White House issued a call to action for the health care sector to help fix the climate crisis. Federal health systems (like the Veterans Health Administration) and many leading health systems across the country are already taking action to reduce their GHG emissions. HHS asked health care institutions to sign a Health Care System Climate (HCSC) Pledge, to reduce emissions and to protect their communities from a changing climate. On June 30, the Biden-Harris administration announced that 61 of the largest U.S. hospital and health sector companies have signed the pledge. Of this group, Atrium Health has hospitals and medical schools in North Carolina; DaVita has kidney dialysis centers in western North Carolina.

In order to preserve a livable earth and reduce the environmental impacts of climate change, the average global temperature will need to be held to 1.5^oC (2.7^oF) above the pre-industrial levels of the late 1800’s. Currently, our planet is 1.1^oC (2.0^oF) warmer and GHG emissions continue to rise, perpetuating the problem. For a livable climate, these emissions will need to be net zero (according to the United Nations), when atmospheric emissions are completely absorbed naturally by the oceans and forests. The Paris Agreement of 2015, signed by 193 countries and the European Union, recommends that GHG emissions be reduced to 45% of 2010 levels by 2030 and approach net zero by 2050.

The HCSC pledge asks each hospital and health system to:

• Reduce GHG emissions to 50% of 2008 levels by 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2050
• Designate an executive-level sustainability leader and develop a climate resilience plan for their facilities and community by the end of 2023
• Conduct an inventory of indirect emissions by the end of 2024

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

ASHEVILLE, NC – November 7, 2022 – This is the time of year, during the colder fall, winter and spring months, for the spread of seasonal viral respiratory diseases like the flu. These illnesses are contagious and spread in the air. The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been around for years, although it hasn’t been as common as the flu. Babies and children 2 years old and younger can be affected. The virus can cause the lungs and the airways to become inflamed and for pneumonia to develop in severe cases. There is a higher rate of hospitalization than for flu or even COVID-19. Older persons and those that have weakened immune systems can also become severely ill.

RSV is a global disease that is surging earlier this year in much of the United States. In many states (like Michigan), the health care system is now under severe stress due to the large number of hospital admissions, ICU admissions and staff shortages. Some of the most common symptoms of RSV are like the common cold with fever and runny nose. Worsening of the disease can be associated with loss of appetite, coughing, sneezing and wheezing. Those with trouble breathing require immediate hospital care. Sometimes, this disease can be fatal.

Wearing face masks and frequent hand-sanitation have helped to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses over the past few years. As a result, many young children have not been exposed to RSV and, therefore, have no immunity to it. Many people have stopped using these precautions due to the lessening of the COVID-19 problem, contributing to the early spread of respiratory illnesses like RSV. The Mission Hospital Pediatric Emergency Department reports that the current volume of cases is already equal to the usual winter surge. Data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Dashboard have reported more than a 1800% jump in Type A influenza cases in the past month. However, there is limited RSV-specific data on the N.C. dashboard.

The risk of acquiring severe viral respiratory diseases can be reduced through wearing a face mask when indoors, frequent hand washing and staying away from crowded indoor public spaces. The FDA has not approved any vaccine for RSV. However, Pfizer is planning to submit the results of their recently successful phase three trial by the end of the year.

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

ASHEVILLE, NC – November 16, 2022 – The CDC reports that the community level for Buncombe County is low for the week ending November 7^th. Most of the counties in North Carolina are low and 2 of 100 counties are at a high community level. Most of the counties in the U.S. are at a low level with less than 3% of the counties at a high level. For a county at a low community level, the CDC recommends:

• You may choose to wear a mask at any time as an additional precaution to protect yourself and others.
• If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider wearing a mask indoors in public and take additional precautions.

The Buncombe County COVID-19 metrics are on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard. Data from the week ending on November 9^th indicate:

• The data from the last 2 weeks is incomplete. With the best available data, last week’s total cases are 208 down 22% from 266 the previous week.
• 67% of the total population have received their primary vaccination series. Unchanged over the past 13 weeks.
• 23% of people with their primary vaccination series have had the new bivalent booster up 2% from last week.
• The seven-day daily average of COVID-19 hospitalizations is 43 and has increased by 2 since last week, and of ICU patients is 5 and is unchanged from the previous week.

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:

• Stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.
• People with any COVID symptoms should get tested
• People who are positive for COVID-19 or do not feel well should stay home

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

An updated COVID-19 booster is now available for eligible persons 5 years and older. This new booster targets 2 versions of the COVID virus, the original virus and the new dominant BA.4 and BA.5 variants. It will replace the previous booster shot that had targeted only the original version of the virus. Eligible persons must be at least 2 months after any prior COVID-19 shots and have had the primary vaccination series. The CDC advises that people who recently had COVID consider delaying their boosters until 3 months after their symptoms started or after a positive COVID test if they were asymptomatic. Booster shots are 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]