U.C. Health Commissioner strikes a hopeful tone
Union County Health Commissioner Jason Orcena spent the health department’s annual District Advisory Council meeting reflecting on how much has changed since the group last met.
“It’s just striking what’s happened in the past year,” Orcena said.
ORCENA
As he presented to township, village, city and county representatives, he compared a number of statistics from their 2020 annual meeting with current numbers.
At the council’s March 2020 meeting, Orcena mentioned there were 607 COVID-19 cases in the United States. Over 28.2 million have now been confirmed.
While the numbers may appear grim, Orcena emphasized the light at the end of the tunnel.
“(There are) lots of things on the horizon – really a good outlook,” he said.
Orcena told the group that the Union County Health Department has learned a great deal in adapting to combat the virus.
Early in the pandemic, the health department established an Emergency Operations Center that brought together health officials, first responders and social service agencies to anticipate and meet COVID-related needs.
He said some of the initial EOC functions are still in operation, but UCHD is “looking to demobilize parts over the next several weeks.”
Even so, Orcena said many of the core protections against COVID will remain prominent.
He said there are several key considerations for the community moving forward.
First, he said UCHD will guide and assist the community as it continues to reopen in stages.
He said local businesses and residents have been largely compliant with the Ohio Department of Health’s evolving health orders.
Orcena noted that UCHD has conducted 292 complaint investigations, but did not issue any citations.
“A lot of times it just required a little bit of education,” though “a couple of actors required more hand-holding,” he said.
He said there is a “sharp distinction” between investigations by UCHD and the state. He noted that the health department is not contacted and does not learn of them until “after the fact.”
Orcena said UCHD will also continue to respond quickly to new cases.
Testing will remain an important tool in preventing outbreaks, Orcena said, especially as it has become more widely accessible. He said UCHD aims to “test early, test often.”
“I couldn’t buy a test back in June of 2020 and now we have testing capabilities that are going to waste,” Orcena said.
Along with testing, he said he expects advisories for mask wearing and social distancing will be in place “for quite some time to come.”
The health commissioner said UCHD is actively monitoring for outbreaks and variant strains of COVID-19.
He said quarantine and isolation requirements will remain in place to guard against them.
Many of the health department’s current efforts revolve around mass vaccination, Orcena said.
“I will freely admit that we are all tired at this point, but we’re going to keep going until everyone gets a vaccine that wants to get a vaccine,” Orcena said.
He noted that the health department “ended the year on a real high note” with the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine.
He said UCHD has administered more than 6,400 shots.
“The only thing that slowed us down is vaccine supply – that is literally the only thing slowing us down,” Orcena said.
The health department is working to make their vaccination site “as easy as possible,” Orcena said, to continue to encourage residents to be vaccinated.
He said most individuals are given a shot within two and half minutes of arriving, then wait 15 minutes to ensure they do not experience any side effects. In total, most people spend less than 20 minutes at the site, Orcena said.
“We’re just going to keep plowing ahead,” he said of the health department and volunteers’ work.
He said the success of the local response hinges on the strong cooperation between area agencies.
“I don’t say this lightly – I’m not one for hyperbole,” Orcena said. “I couldn’t imagine doing this in any other county or with any other partners.”
He thanked a number of local agencies and residents who have contributed in the fight against COVID in various ways.
The efforts are paying off, Orcena said.
“Fingers crossed, we’ll meet soon” he said. “And without a mask, in person.”