Written by Dr. Stephanie Paulmeno, DNP, RN, NHA, CPH, CCM, CDP, Public Health Education Specialist Greenwich Department of Health
Governor Lamont distributes reports, Monday through Friday, on Connecticut’s COVID-positivity ratings, cases, changing numbers, hospitalizations, and deaths; but seeing them sequentially is more impactful than one isolated day at a time.
Meet our pandemic!
Selectman Camillo provided State data on the “fully vaccinated” status of our people by age groups (Connecticut Department of Health and Human Services 12-16-21, which was published in Community Connections From Fred,
12-17-21).
This showed our continued low vaccination rates in certain groups, and therefore children and adults at unnecessary risk (CDC, 2021).
Under-vaccinated or unvaccinated children are at risk at the whim of their parents, but the 25-44 year olds are choosing to knowingly placing themselves at risk despite the availability of free, safe, and readily accessible vaccines that will protect people against severe illness, hospitalization, ICU admissions, and death (CDC, WHO, Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, Reuters Fact Check, AMA, ANA, American Lung Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2021).
The CT-DPH chart above depicts Connecticut’s COVID impact. It emphasizes the high percentage of not fully vaccinated hospitalized people as compared to those who are vaccinated. It is hard to dispute hard data, yet many still do.
It is the same bottom line outcome every day; the 12-17-21 entry, noted that “of the 736 patients currently hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, 563 (76.5%) are not fully vaccinated.”
Fully vaccinated people of advanced age, those with underlying health conditions, and those undergoing immune system compromising treatments sometimes cannot create the robust immune response needed to fight off COVID despite being vaccinated. They can and often do become more seriously ill when exposed to COVID. Not all people in Greenwich use Greenwich Hospital, so we need to think more broadly when assessing just the Greenwich Hospital numbers provided to us. Governor Lamont depicts daily statewide and county-wide figures which may be more useful.
Public health experts use rising positivity rates, increasing hospitalization rates, and growing death rates as indicators of concern in assessing community spread and pandemic impact. Positivity rates above 5% are cause for action because they indicate high community spread; either too many people are testing positive (have COVID), or too few people are being tested (walking around unaware that they are infectious). The renowned Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health notes that when a community’s positivity rate reaches 5%, it is an indication of high community transmission and not a good time to relax safety restrictions and safety measures; they advise increasing them until the community positivity ratings are below 5% for two sustained weeks.
From December 6 to 17, 2021, Connecticut’s positivity rating has been above 5% for all but two days, with one of those days at 4.98%.
In a state where personal choice takes precedence over public health and safety, which was not the case in previous pandemics and outbreaks, this now translates into individuals having to take personal responsibility to protect themselves and others; such actions as getting vaccinated/getting your children vaccinated, properly wearing masks, handwashing, social distancing, avoiding crowds/indoor gathering, staying home/keeping children home when sick or following exposure until they are tested and have a negative result.
On 12-17-21, Greenwich Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Tony Jones, noted in her weekly report to parents that
the Greenwich School System had experienced their largest increase in COVID-19 cases since the start of the
pandemic in 2020 (64 new cases on 12-17-21), and that every school in the district was involved. She revealed that
most of these cases were associated with birthday parties, sports, and the recent holiday events. This important
breakdown was identified through the work of the school’s contact tracers who are currently tracking 141 cases
(Greenwich Patch, 12-17-21).
The Greenwich Department of Health is the Town’s only officially designated Public Health Authority (portal.ct.gov, 2021). While many public health professionals are also healthcare professionals, it is important to bear in mind that the training of allied medical and health practitioners is separate and apart from the extensive and distinct bodies of public health knowledge that public health professionals receive. It is always affirming to see when a health professional combines their original training with a public health degree or certificate, or attain National Board Certification in Public Health.
Health Director Baisley’s team of trained Public Health Contact Tracers has monitored and traced 6,471 people with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 since the pandemic emerged.
This is despite her small staff, which also has numerous mandated Essential Duties of Public Health (CDC, 2021) that cannot be put aside when a catastrophe such as a pandemic occurs. This laudable productivity was accomplished through the combined efforts and public health expertise of the department’s public health staff, along with appropriate members of Director Baisley’s trained and sworn-in Greenwich Medical Reserve Corps of community volunteers. The COVID patients in Greenwich have been in conversation with these health and public health professionals since 2020 as contact tracers made attempts to control the rapidly spreading pandemic with its ever-emerging new variants. Public Health Contact Tracers work not only to identify cases and potential new cases, and to apply public health containment strategies; they also engage in case assessments and patient symptom monitoring to assure that people’s food, housing, child care/senior care/pet care, medical care and safety needs are being met, and to get needed services attended to. They actively engage with COVID patients and the parents of the many infected children, to provide health and public health education around proven pandemic control strategies to contain community spread; i.e.: getting vaccinated/boostered, arranging for flu vaccines and, as needed, monoclonal antibody infusions, wearing masks, social distancing, handwashing, isolation (for those with COVID), quarantine (for those exposed to COVID patients), and getting tested. She revealed that on Friday alone the Department’s Public Health Contact Tracers received 51 new cases, and that they came largely from our COVID-diagnosed 10 to 49 year olds. This was an increase of 97 new cases in Greenwich over 3 days.
The Greenwich Department of Health is actively tracing and monitoring 143 Greenwich cases, which grows daily. Director Baisley, with a Master’s in Public Health and as a Registered Sanitarian, is a credentialed public health official who has been the face of public health in Greenwich for over 40 years. She is actively involved in
developing infection control plans and disease response plans, setting up COVID Vaccine and Booster Clinic, and
Influenza Vaccine Clinics, creating and distributing public health guidance, and providing suggestions to individuals, businesses, schools, organizations, and Town departments, and to decision-makers in many places.
So, with high community spread documented in our town, state, and county, what would be your best options for protecting yourself, your family, your neighbors, and your community?
Assess your and your family members’ personal risks (advanced age, underlying medical condition, immune-compromising medications or treatments, obesity, race) and take steps to protect yourself with vaccines, boosters, masks, handwashing, social distancing, and symptom checks.
Avoid crowds and places, especially indoors, where unmasked/potentially unvaccinated people may be in your proximity. You will not know who has COVID, or who is a person at-risk Wash your hands frequently.
Get tested: if you have symptoms, become exposed to a COVID-positive person or suspect that you have. Stay home when sick (you, your children); maintain isolation and quarantine as needed If you are unvaccinated, avoid being in contact with vulnerable others even if they have been vaccinated (seniors, people with underlying medical conditions, or on immune compromising treatments.
If you become infected, notify people and places where you had been within the two weeks prior to developing your symptoms.
When the Contact Tracer calls, provide information needed to contain community spread.
Dr. Stephanie Paulmeno
Public Health Education Specialist
Greenwich Department of Health