The Greater Greenbrier COVID-19 Task Force met Tuesday morning, Feb. 8, via conference call and reported the following information.
1. GREENBRIER COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT. State statistics have not been updated for the past two days. Locally, our infection rate remains over 100 and the daily percent positive is above 13%. The peak was expected to be in mid-February, but we have not reached that point yet. Our health care facilities are doing an excellent job but continue to be at capacity. Most of our cases are omicron, including in children. Pediatric hospitalizations are going up significantly across the nation. The good news is that omicron cases cause less severe symptoms generally. Testing after travel or exposure remains a good best practice for all of our citizens.
2. MAVERICK HEALTH provides free drive-up, in-car COVID testing at the State Fair parking lot ticket booth, 9:30am – 3pm Monday-Friday, and Sundays 10am-4pm. If Greenbrier County Schools are delayed or closed, Maverick Health will also be delayed or closed.
3. GREENBRIER COUNTY SCHOOLS. The current CDC guidance allows those who test positive to leave isolation after 5 days and continue to wear a mask for another 5 days. It’s the same guidance for those who are exposed to a positive case. This guidance allows us to get folks back in school a little faster. The “Test to Stay program” is going well and parents have been appreciative of the free take home COVID tests.
4. GREENBRIER VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER. Covid numbers: 13 covid positive patients in house, two on ventilators. Monoclonal Antibody Therapy: Monoclonal antibody (MAB) therapy is now extremely limited. The FDA has removed the authorization for use of Regeneron and Bamlanivimab/Etesevimab (Bam/Ete) due to prevalence of the Omicron variant (now > 99% of cases nationally). Omicron is resistant to Regeneron and Bam/Ete and are no longer effective at treating the virus. Sotrovimab is an MAB that is still effective against Omicron, but supply of the drug is extremely limited. We will be getting anywhere from none to only a handful of doses on a weekly basis. We are following directions from State and Federal agencies for distribution of Sotrovimab based on patient risk factors. Distribution is being prioritized to patients at the highest level of risk for severe disease or death from COVID infection. Visitation: Visitors are permitted inside the facility on a limited basis — one visitor per patient at a time between the hours of 11am – 8pm. After hours and on weekends, enter through the emergency department. Gift shop closed until further notice. Visitation info: https://www.gvmc.com/patients-visitors
5. ROBERT C BYRD CLINIC. HRSA has notified us that the free at-home test kits we ordered should be delivered this week. Once we have those, we will let the community know when they will be ready for dispensing. However, the initial stock will be limited since we expect only to receive a fraction of the kits we ordered. We continue our testing in the mobile clinic, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 am until noon and 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm. We are now doing vaccines anytime the clinic is open; patients just need to call for an appointment. We can also do vaccines at a patent’s routine appointment; they just need to let the nurse know. We encourage everyone to be vigilant (wearing masks, distancing, isolating if sick, etc.) since COVID is still prevalent in our area. We have seen 35% of all tests since January 1st come back positive; this is the highest positivity rate we’ve encountered during the pandemic.
6. RAINELLE MEDICAL CENTER. Calling to make an appointment for COVID testing or a vaccine is the best option (304-438-6188). COVID testing is available everyday by appointment. We have all Covid vaccines available. COVID test results continue to take 48-72 hours or sometimes longer to return due to high volumes. We have a limited supply of the antiviral medications in our pharmacies at RMC and Maxwelton. RMC is still requiring masks for entry into our facilities.
7. COMMITTEE ON AGING. Our centers remain closed for activities and meals (Fairlea and Rupert), but we continue to offer in-home/delivery services. We are also continuing to provide all regular services. Masks are required at our facilities.
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