COVID-19, flu and RSV still a threat to community

FAIRMONT — COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases still pose a threat to West Virginia.

COVID-19, Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus are the three respiratory illnesses Marion County Health Department Executive Director Lloyd White said will most affect residents in Marion County during winter.

Dr. Michael Stevens, system health care epidemiologist for WVU Health System agreed, adding that North Central West Virginian will likely experience higher COVID-19 activity in the coming weeks, due to rising cases in larger cities around the northeast U.S. such as New York City.

These respiratory diseases are currently affecting other cities around the United States and Europe.

“Influenza is raging; the activity is really very high right now. Regionally we are seeing very high rates. We’re seeing the highest levels of hospitalization rates at this time of year that we’ve seen in over a decade. ... The RSV activity is really high as well. It’s really stretching the capacity of hospitals to take care of children, all though that activity is starting to go down. But, Influenza and Covid-19 are on the rise,” Stevens said.

Studies at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that RSV can cause more severe infections such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia. RSV “is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children younger than 1 year of age.”

According to the West Virginia Department of Human Resources, there are 37 active COVID-19 cases in Marion County and 833 active cases statewide, as of Dec. 7.

“We’re still seeing a number of cases, more so than I’m comfortable with,” White said.

But, White explained that it is difficult to know for certain how many active COVID-19 cases there are with at-home testing and no mandate for reporting at home positive cases to the health department. Health departments only receive lab test results.

“The issue is that we really don’t know how many cases we have in the community, due to reporting. When we changed the testing protocol on June 1, only lab confirmed cases get reported to the state. So, if someone takes an at-home test kit and it’s positive and they may even do the right things, which is isolate for five days, but it’s not reported to anybody. So we don’t really have a clear picture of the actual number of cases. We have lab confirmed cases, but beyond that, we’re really not sure,” White said.

White said this could be improved and recommends reporting at-home positive COVID-19 cases to the state department or the health department.

Stevens said that community members 65 years old and older and people with underlying health conditions are still the most affected and more susceptible to hospitalization, ventilation and even death. But with vaccinations, there has been a drop off of cases in those demographics, White said.

“Because the vaccination rates in those particular populations were exceptionally good, we’re not seeing as many cases and hospitalizations. I attribute that to the effectiveness of the vaccination,” White said.

White and Stevens recommend residents get the COVID-19 vaccine, avoid crowded areas, practice good cough and sneeze etiquette and maintain a proper diet that will allow the immune system to stay healthy and avoid sickness. He added that it is still OK to wear a mask when venturing out. He recommends getting a booster shot six months after receiving the second COVID-19 vaccine. Anyone above six months old is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

“So, if we continue to do those things, we will see case numbers decline. Hopefully we will see hospitalization numbers decline and the number of deaths decline as well,” White said.