Since mid-December 2020, much of the conversation about COVID-19 has moved to vaccine distribution and administration. LMAS District Health Department, our four local hospitals, the Sault Tribe, and two local pharmacies have been working diligently to schedule clinics and get first and second doses administered to those in the priority groups.
The response from those wanting the COVID vaccines has been greater than supply, but each week we have continued to vaccinate those in the priority groups as identified by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
There has been a greatly reduced number of individuals getting tested for COVID in the LMAS counties and across Michigan. Testing, identifying where the virus is, and then isolating those infected and quarantining those exposed, is our first best defense in protecting the residents and businesses in our counties. Without testing, we cannot identify those who may be asymptomatic or have mild symptoms attributed to the weather or sinus trouble. What may be mild to one person, could spread to another and cost them their life. COVID testing is available at each of our local hospitals.
With 211 cases of the COVID variant B.1.1.7 identified in Michigan so far – and these are only the samples that have been sequenced – it is a good reminder that we are not at a place where we can let down our guard. The variant, first identified in the United Kingdom, has been shown to be more easily spread, which will lead to more cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Initial studies of the two vaccines approved for use in the United States, Pfizer and Moderna, indicate some protection against this variant.
Whether talking about new variants or the initial strain of COVID-19, we must all remember that the vaccine is just one important tool in our box, and the best chance for the vaccine to move us past the pandemic is for everyone to continue to do the small things we have been asking of each of you since early in 2020.
So, get vaccinated when it’s your turn, get tested for COVID, wear a properly fitting face mask fully over your mouth and nose, wash your hands often, stay home when you don’t feel well, do not gather with people who do not live in your immediate household, and if the health department calls and instructs you to isolate or quarantine, please follow those instructions.
We know you’re tired of doing these small things, but the only way the vaccine is going to help move us past all of this is if we all continue to follow all of the protocols to protect each other. This pandemic is not over. We need your help.
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