MURRAY – Last week, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that, while we are not there yet, the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is in sight. President Joe Biden went a step further earlier this week when he told “60 Minutes” that the pandemic is over. While these declarations may sound like music to many people’s ears, the responses of state and local officials suggest that may be wishful thinking.
“Clearly, the COVID-19 data shows that the virus is not eradicated, so to simply say it is “over” would not be an accurate statement,” Calloway County Health Department (CCHD) Public Health Director Jamie Hughes said. “… The COVID-19 virus is still spreading across several countries and affecting a large number of people. So, as for now it seems to still fit the definition of a pandemic.”
At his Team Kentucky update last week, Gov. Andy Beshear said that he is “thrilled” about WHO’s announcement and would like to see the pandemic end. He explained that the WHO’s comment is based on fatalities, which have gone down significantly, but noted, in Kentucky, dozens of people are still dying every week.
“The end might be in sight, but until we’re actually at the end, this could still take lives or it could make you pretty sick,” Beshear said. “We don’t talk a lot about how much it can harm productivity. That’s pretty important, too – making sure we can keep people well and at work.”
Murray-Calloway County Hospital (MCCH) Vice President of Patient Care Services Jeff Eye said it is possible that the end is in sight. From a population standpoint, the number of people who have had the disease and/or have been vaccinated provides the immunity levels necessary to slow the transmission and severity of the disease. That coupled with effective treatments, such as antiviral medications and monoclonal antibodies, has “put us in a much better place than we have been.”
“My most honest answer is that we will not ‘know’ that we have reached the end of the pandemic phase, until well after it has already happened,” Eye said. “There are still about 400 people dying from COVID each day in the United States. If you annualize that number, it would be 146,000 a year, which is down from 460,000 last year, but would still be the fifth leading cause of death in the country.
“To put that into perspective, between 2010-2020, flu deaths ranged from 12,000-52,000 a year. In Kentucky, we are still seeing that the unvaccinated represent 90% of COVID deaths less than 60 years old and 67% of those over the age of 60. It is a positive sign that, with essentially none of the prior restrictions being in place to prevent the spread of the disease, we are seeing generally positive trends.”
In Calloway County, the situation appears to be relatively stable. There were 55 new COVID cases last week, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health’s (KDPH) weekly report released Monday, which is consistent with reported case totals throughout September. The report also showed the first death of a Calloway resident since early July, bringing the county’s death toll to 99.
MCCH’s walk-in clinic has been seeing around 250-300 patients per week; approximately 10% of them are testing positive for COVID, Eye said, and added that there have not been any discernible trends related to who is getting it.
Hospital admissions have remained stable for the past month; the patients have tended to be older and are, generally, unvaccinated. Fortunately, severity of illness and lengths of stay have been significantly less than what MCCH experienced during Delta and Omicron. Eye said COVID admissions have been in the single digits for “weeks on end.” As of Wednesday afternoon, MCCH had no COVID inpatients.
Hughes and Eye offered additional insights.
Do you have any major COVID-related concerns?
Hughes: It’s hard to address just one concern. It could be for the mental health of those that have lost family or loved ones to COVID, and my heart goes out to everyone that has experienced tragedy due to COVID. Yet, another one of my concerns would be the utter exhaustion those in the medical field have experienced over the last couple of years. These individuals have spent many hours caring for the sick and attempting to prevent others from becoming ill. All of this came with working long hours, many sleepless nights and time away from family and friends.
Is there an answer to addressing these concerns? I am not entirely sure. I do believe that it is something that will be unique to each individual. If I had to pick something, though, I would center it around finding rest. Finding rest could be through counseling, spending time with family and friends, if they are a person of faith, focus on that. It might be a vacation or something as simple as a daily walk away from work. Whatever it is, just take time away. They need it.
Eye: Not a major concern, but we will be monitoring both COVID and influenza very closely this year. That has been one source of worry during the duration of the pandemic, having high levels of both diseases at the same time. The steps that were taken to try and decrease the spread of COVID also had an impact on other infectious diseases as well, so we have not had the same exposure to influenza for the last three years as we would normally have. It will be important to get your flu shot earlier than normal this year, especially if you are in a high-risk patient group.
Should people still be worried about getting COVID?
Hughes: I believe COVID will be something we deal with for a long time and contracting COVID will still be possible. I also believe that with an effective vaccine, readily available testing options and medical treatments, our worries should be lessened.
Eye: I do not think people should be worried, but they should not be cavalier about it either. Latest data indicates that, with COVID, there is a 3% chance of severe illness requiring hospitalization, 0.3% chance of death, but a 20% chance of experiencing ‘long COVID.’ Vaccination is still the best way to decrease your chances for experiencing these more serious effects of the disease. If you are concerned about the newer mRNA vaccine, Novovax is available, which is a more traditional vaccine technology.
When will COVID be “over” for you?
Hughes: Technically, when it no longer exists. I know that probably seems like a simplistic (answer). I do see that Public Health’s response will eventually be addressing COVID like we do the flu every year.
Eye: For those of us that work in healthcare, we are dealing with the clinical aspects of the pandemic and also the impacts to operations. The clinical part will be over when we have fully moved into the endemic phase of the disease and adapt to what that means moving forward. … Supply chain issues are still a significant issue, and we are constantly dealing with shortages of medications, supplies and equipment. Staffing challenges and the costs associated with temporary staffing are improving, but still are an issue. The impacts to the workforce from a burnout perspective are going to be a challenge for quite some time.
