In today’s media availability, Dr. Teresa Frankovich, Humboldt County Health Officer, asked questions about maskless bus drivers, social gatherings, antibody testing, vaccine development, and whether Humboldt is about to be included in the state watch list. And much more.
Below: The questions asked and a rough summary of Dr. Frankovich’s answers, with time stamps corresponding to the video above.
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(0:00) Some local bus drivers may remove their face covers while driving due to possible visibility impacts and safety concerns. Does this raise public health concern given the number of people who could be exposed to a driver without a mask on any given day?
Dr. Frankovich says: “Obviously we want drivers to be safe while driving. This is very important “.
A word of advice though: There are many different skins, and some of them might work best for private individuals. Dr. Frankovich encourages drivers to find masks that work for them.
(1:30) In the past few weeks, you and Assistant Health Officer Josh Ennis have repeatedly said that social gatherings and travel have been largely responsible for the local spread of the virus. Sending this, we have seen three dozen new confirmed cases in the last 10 days. Has this pattern been maintained and are most of these new cases linked to social gatherings and / or travel?
“A great driver of our local cases is related to both of them
trips and meetings, and sometimes the two together, “says Dr. Frankovich. For example: a person can travel outside the area, contract the virus, and then attend a social gathering. The original person is listed as travelrelated to the case, and the others are placed in the “close contact” category.
(2:55) Are this week’s cases related to the wedding / grand gathering that took place in Petrolia 2 weeks ago? Does public health think the meeting is part of the reason we’ve seen an increase in cases lately?
No meeting in particular has been a conductor, says Dr. Frankovich, but meetings in general have been. She reminds people that while a young person could attend a function without too much fear of becoming seriously ill, they could become carriers of the virus and pass it on to people who are at much greater risk.
(3:45) Given the rising rates of infections and hospitalizations in other parts of the state and the inability of some counties to keep track of enough contacts, some lawmakers and health experts have asked the governor to issue another statewide shutdown . Do you feel that the state has crossed the threshold to where this may be necessary to contain the virus, or do you think counties should be allowed to continue to exercise local control where conditions warrant?
“At this point, I would say he would hate to see us return to the shelter in place,” says Dr. Frankovich. “Locally, our conditions don’t deserve that at the moment.”
(5:10) National health experts have expressed optimism about developing an effective coronavirus vaccine later this year or early 2021. But at a recent meeting of the Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Rex Bohn said that there may never be a vaccine for COVID -19 and agreed that it is a possibility. How realistic do you think it is to have an effective vaccine with long-lasting protection against COVID-19 in the near future?
“What we are seeing to date is encouraging,” says Dr. Frankovich. “Is it possible that we will have an effective vaccine in early 2021? I think it’s possible. I think if we do that, supplying that vaccine will be a problem. “
There are very promising trials underway right now, he says, but the bottom line is: We have never produced a coronavirus vaccine before. And it takes a good amount of time to make sure that a potential vaccine is safe and effective.
Also: Although the vaccine would be key to ending the pandemic, an effective way to treat people who contract the virus (to keep them alive and healthy) would also be a “game changer.” She says she is hopeful that a treatment may be available in the short term.
(7:15) Can you give an update on the PPE available in the county for health workers and medical personnel? Is additional PPE being sent to nursing homes and assisted living facilities as well?
Dr. Frankovich says the county tries to help other local entities maintain their PPE stocks, but most of those entities are also securing their own supplies. The county will assist providers and will also intervene to supply agencies in an emergency.
(8:30) We previously reported on free antibody tests to detect previous COVID 19 exposure that was made available at a local clinic. Are antibody tests reliable and will they be available to the general public?
The technology is pretty good now, says Dr. Frankovich, but the usefulness of the test can be a problem. “We really don’t know what it means if we detect an antibody, whether it provides protection or not, whether it does so for how long and what level of antibody it needs to protect.”
Our immune system is more than just antibodies. A person can contract the virus, recover, and still have antibodies in the blood. The level of those antibodies may drop to undetectable levels, but that person could still be protected from serious illness by other aspects of the immune system.
At the end of the next question, Dr. Frankovich adds: The antibody test may be available through your doctor. She does not know any available premises free
antibody test.
(9:45) You know, COVID-19 particles are destroyed through refrigeration or contact with the sun?
Dr. Frankovich says that he is not aware that any of those things are an effective means of destroying COVID-19. Disinfectant, handwashing, masking, social distancing – those are the ways we know to stop the spread of the virus.
(10:30) Should people seek non-emergency medical attention and go to routine medical appointments at this time?
Yes.
“We are certainly seeing an increase in cases and I know that is a concern, but I think as we move through the COVID landscape, we will see that increase rather than substantially decrease,” says Dr. Frankovich. “I think that is certainly the trend. So I think if you need routine health care maintenance, I think this is an important time to get in there and do it. “
(11:20) How close is Humboldt to being on the monitoring list? We are close?
There are some factors that go into the location on the monitoring list. Healthcare capacity is one, and we are well on that front right now.
The closest factor to putting ourselves on the list right now, says Dr. Frankovich, is our case rate. One thing that will put a county there is a rate of 25 diagnosed cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period: we are out there and have exceeded it sometimes, combined with a positive test rate of 8 percent or higher, that we are far below.
That positive test rate keeps us off the list, but the increase in cases is troubling.
