KINGWOOD — COVID cases are beginning to decline in Preston County as the delta variant transitions to omicron — but staffing and equipment problems caused by the virus still exist.
Dr. Fred Conley, Preston County health officer, said Preston Memorial Hospital ran out of ventilators and had to get some from the National Guard.
“We need to get the message out to get vaccinated,” he said. “We had 16 people out isolated with COVID. Staffing is at a premium. Every department is really strapped for staffing.”
Preston County Health Department Director V.J. Davis said 84% of the COVID cases in the county have been among the unvaccinated and 16% among the vaccinated. He said 89% of the deaths were among the unvaccinated and 11% vaccinated.
But, he said, PCHD has not received any home testing reports at this point.
Last month the White House launched COVIDTests.gov, a website where people can order free at-home COVID test kits. Each household can request up to four kits.
“I believe we will be inundated with them in three or four weeks,” Conley said. “If they are positive, we’ll have to accept them as being active.”
“Deaths have started dropping,” Davis said. “We’re seeing omicron now and it’s not as severe as delta.”
He said PCHD is scheduling vaccinations two days a week. Davis said they might start going to the senior centers and having mobile vaccinations. Home-bound vaccination is still ongoing. He said pop-up clinics are also a possibility.
“Maybe we should quit saying vaccination prevents COVID,” Conley said. “The general public knows it doesn’t. Maybe we should stress it is to prevent the risk of serious illness and death.”
In other business, Davis said part time employees Tony and Sheila Amato have been talking to 5-to-9-year-olds about COVID and reading “We Will Be Okay” to them.
“I talked to (Superintendent of Schools) Steve Wotring and he was on board,” he said. “Teachers were hesitant about the backlash from parents, but we haven’t received one complaint. We might try to expand and find something for the older kids.”
Davis said the book is left at the school and children are given information about vaccination to take home to their parents.
Board members voted unanimously to give an incentive $3 per hour for every hour they worked to temporary employees who worked in 2020-21.
Davis said full-time employees received COVID incentive pay but temporary employees were not eligible under the grant.
“I talked to Jim (Fields, president of the PCHD board) and we thought this was a fair way to do it. The temps worked as hard as the full-time and this is a way to say thank you,” he said.
The next meeting of the Preston County Health Department will be 7 p.m March 10.
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