ASHEVILLE, NC – March 22, 2022 – At the March 15th 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, healthyasheville@ashevillefm.org