Union County Health Department officials said the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic locally can be viewed through four distinct surges, each highlighted in a different color on the chart of case counts above. The first surge brought four to 10 cases per day, while the most recent led to between 100 and 225 daily cases. (Graphic submitted)
As COVID numbers subside locally, the Union County Health Department is reflecting on its pandemic response.
UCHD Director of Health Promotion and Planning Shawn Sech said the health department views the past two years as a story of four different surges.
The first occurred from June to August 2020 while vaccines were not available. At that time, UCHD was seeing between four to 10 cases per day.
Vaccines became available at the start of a second wave, from October 2020 to February 2021, while 40-65 cases were being reported each day.
“We just didn’t have any idea how bad it was going to get,” Sech said.
A third spike in cases occurred following a relatively calm summer, when students began returning to school. From July to October 2021, UCHD saw 20-50 cases daily.
The largest wave of cases came with the omicron virus, which led to 100-225 cases per day from October 2021 to February 2022.
“That’s 10 years of case investigations, basically, in the course of six weeks,” Sech said.
The number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths varied each year of the pandemic.
In 2020, there were 3,300 cases reported in Union County; 7,058 in 2021; and 3,903 through February 2022.
As far as hospitalizations, 159 were reported in 2020; 318 in 2021; and 66 in 2022 through February.
There have been a total of 97 deaths among Union County residents, with 27 in 2020; 56 in 2021 and 14 through February of this year.
Sech said the health department has focused on three main pillars to fight the pandemic: vaccinations, testing and disease investigation.
The health department also administered 34,312 vaccines and hosted about 230 clinics, Sech said. Currently, approximately 65% of the eligible population in Union County is vaccinated.
With the help of local partners, UCHD distributed 21,707 at-home COVID-19 test kits and administered 9,203 PCR tests.
Sech said the Marysville Public Library “really was the hub” of test distribution, at one point giving out between 300 and 400 test kits each day.
Throughout the course of the pandemic, Sech said health department employees handled approximately 15,000 phone calls related to disease investigation.
Along with the work of UCHD employees, Sech noted that Medical Reserve Corps members covered more than 1,000 shifts, volunteering approximately 5,400 hours.
Sech noted that the local response would not have been possible if not for UCHD’s pre-existing relationships with officials and agencies throughout the county.
At this point, the county is in a “low” community transmission level. Sech said Union County has held steady at a low level for about two weeks.
The level is in accordance with a CDC tracker that “basically lets you know what you should be able to do,” Sech said.
Under a low transmission level, there is no recommendation for mask wearing. The guidance suggests staying up to date with vaccinations and getting tested if an individual develops symptoms.
If the county were to move to a “medium” community transmission level, those who at a high risk for severe illness are encouraged to talk to their healthcare provider about wearing a mask and other possible precautions.
In other business:
– The board voted unanimously to remove a stipend from its on-call policy, as Deputy Health Commissioner Marcia Dreiseidel said “pretty much the only people working weekends at this point” are those who were hired with that understanding.
– Sech said the health department will help to host all four local “Safety Towns,” in which incoming kindergarteners learn safe practices for school and home.
They will be for Marysville, Fairbanks, North Union and Plain City – a new addition this year – students.