Orange County Health News
October 13, 2021 |
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 Bridgette Melo, 5, holds the hand of her father, Jim Melo, during her inoculation of one of two reduced 10 ug doses of the Pfizer BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine during a trial at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
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Pfizer, BioNTech seek U.S. COVID-19 vaccine clearance for children 5-11
WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE have asked U.S. regulators to authorize emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, a group for whom no shot is currently allowed, Pfizer said on Thursday.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has set a date of Oct. 26 for its panel of outside advisers to meet and discuss the application, making it possible for children in this age group - numbering around 28 million - to begin receiving the two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine shortly afterward.
"With new cases in children in the U.S. continuing to be at a high level, this submission is an important step in our ongoing effort against #COVID19," Pfizer wrote on Twitter.
The vaccine already has won U.S. emergency use authorization in teens ages 12 to 15 and is fully approved by regulators for people ages 16 and up.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is one of three in use in the United States, along with the two-dose Moderna vaccine and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson version, neither of which has won full regulatory approval for any age group.
A rapid authorization of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in young kids could help mitigate a potential surge of cases in the coming weeks and months, with schools open nationwide and colder weather driving activities indoors. If given regulatory authorization, the two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine would become the first COVID-19 shot made available to children 5 to 11 in the United States.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been shown to induce a strong immune response in 5 to 11 year olds in a 2,268-participant clinical trial, the companies said on Sept. 20. The two drugmakers are also testing the vaccine in children ages 2 to 5 years old and children ages 6 months to 2 years, with data expected in the fourth quarter.The vaccine could be ready for roll out as early as November pending approval from federal regulatory health agencies, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeffrey Zients said on CNN.
Once the authorization is granted, Zients said: "We are ready. We have the supply. We're working with states to set up convenient locations for parents and kids to get vaccinated including pediatricians' offices and community sites."
The United States leads the world in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
Children currently make up about 27% of all U.S. coronavirus cases and an increasing percentage of hospitalizations, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. That reflects the high contagiousness of the coronavirus Delta variant among unvaccinated people.While children are less susceptible to severe COVID-19, they can spread the virus to others, including vulnerable populations more at risk of severe illness.
A Pfizer spokesperson said the application to the FDA has been completed.
Reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington and Manas Mishra and Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru
Editing by Will Dunham, Timothy Heritage and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty
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Young People and Long COVIDAs many as 1 in 10 young people struggle for months after SARS-CoV-2 infection.
By early 2020, Chris Wilhelm was running up to 70 miles a week as a member of the Johns Hopkins cross country team.
Then, in June, the 20-year-old contracted a mild case of COVID-19, but he felt better within a couple of weeks and was back out running. By July, however, his cough returned and worsened. He felt lightheaded when he ran.
Nowadays, he’s lucky if he can make it through a 15-minute stroll without his heart rate skyrocketing to 170 beats per minute. After spending much of the past year on his parents’ sofa in Florida gaming and streaming videos, he returned to campus in August, where he’s supporting his team from the sidelines.
Wilhelm’s experience is not unique.
More than 5 million children and teens have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. While about 30% of adult survivors report long-term symptoms, anywhere from 2% to 10% of young COVID-19 survivors—some as young as 9 years old—are estimated to experience lingering symptoms. Researchers are scrambling to find effective treatments and more accurately determine how widespread the condition is.
“We want to raise attention that it’s more than just death—we have people who have symptoms that linger with them for months on end, which can be just as devastating to families and individuals,” says epidemiologist Priya Duggal, PhD ’03, MPH ’98, a co-lead of the Johns Hopkins COVID Long Study.
Post-COVID conditions, as defined by the CDC, are a wide-ranging continuum of health problems that arise four or more weeks after being infected. Symptoms include breathing problems, diarrhea, joint pain, sleep problems, mood swings, rashes, and debilitating fatigue.
“We may be able to learn lessons from these COVID patients that are going to be applicable to patients who have other post-infectious complications like Lyme.”
Peter Rowe, MD, who is treating Wilhelm, suspected early in the pandemic that a wave of post-viral illnesses would follow. Around May 2020, appointment requests started coming in from patients like Wilhelm, and he now treats seven of them.
Most had had mild respiratory illnesses. Their lungs and heart checked out nearly perfect—but they were “completely flattened by fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and lightheadedness,” says Rowe, director of the Chronic Fatigue Clinic at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. “Those are some of the cardinal symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, and they're turning out to be cardinal symptoms of long COVID.”
Rowe, who’s spent 25 years studying chronic fatigue syndrome, had often seen these post-viral symptoms in young mononucleosis patients. But with mono, the severity of the initial illness would predict chronic symptoms. With COVID-19, patients with mild initial infections might eventually meet the criteria for postural tachycardia syndrome, a form of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Working with Rowe, Wilhelm has tried some two dozen treatments, including sodium chloride (table salt), beta blockers, and sleeping pills—with uneven success.
On good days, Wilhelm thinks, “Am I being a big baby about this?” On others, when his heart is racing and he can’t get off the couch, he knows the answer is no.
“The stressors on the parents are just as great—if not greater—than on the kids,” says Alexandra Yonts, MD, an infectious disease specialist and director of the Children’s National Post-COVID Program at Children’s National Hospital, which opened in May in Washington, D.C.
For one of Yonts’ patients, 17-year-old Alison Grant, things began to change soon after her mother recovered from COVID-19 in spring of 2020. Grant—an honors student and soccer goalie—began napping constantly and started rejecting foods she once loved. Steak, onions, tomatoes—even water—tasted rancid. In one smell test, she confused lemon with gasoline. It wasn’t until July that tests confirmed Alison, along with both her parents, had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies—though her twin sister did not.
Come August, when classes resumed: “No matter how much sleep I get I am, like, taking a two-hour nap after school,” says Grant.
With strict regime of Flonase and twice-daily smell training to retrain sensory nerve damage, certain foods are slowly becoming tolerable again. She ate a steak recently and considered it a victory. Since June, her energy levels have been improving.
A big concern for young people in particular: These are formative years. “We don’t know how it will affect their growth and development,” says Kelly Gebo, MD, MPH ’00, an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist.
Precious little research on kids and long COVID has been done, so there are plenty of big open questions to answer, says Gebo, a professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a professor of Epidemiology at the Bloomberg School. What is the clinical picture of COVID at 12 weeks? At 6 months? What factors contribute to patients getting better—or not getting better—over time? Are they genetic factors in the host? Do they have to do with the virus itself—or the treatment of the initial infection?
Until research bears more fruit, physicians are focusing on managing each patient’s individual symptoms and goals. In Yonts’ clinic, an 11-year-old just wants to get back on the playground. For others, she is organizing specialized academic plans to help them get through the coming school year.
Yonts wants to make sure that all vulnerable kids who need treatment are getting it. Most of her patients—there are just seven so far—reached the clinic through personal connections. She’s sure many more desperate families are still seeking answers.
“To say, ‘oh you have a cold, oh it’s summer, oh you’re a teenager’—that doesn’t explain why someone who was running track and field two months ago is now barely able to get out of bed,” Yonts says. |
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Suicide Prevention and Awareness
Signs & Symptoms
We can all play a pivotal role in preventing suicide by learning to recognize the signs and symptoms: - Displaying extreme mood swings
- Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs
- Sleeping too little or too much
- Talking about being a burden to others
- Talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live
- Talking about wanting to die
- Withdrawing or isolating themselves
View more information about the warning signs of suicide (PDF).Learn How to Help- Change your language. The word "committed" is often a negative term. So say, "lost to suicide."
- Everyone can play a role in suicide prevention.
Be The One To- Ask the Tough Questions: "Are you thinking about killing yourself?"
- Keep Them Safe: Ask if they have thought about ways to do it. Separate them from anything they are thinking of using to hurt themselves.
- Be There: Listen to their reasons for feeling in pain. Listen without judgment and with empathy.
- Help Them Connect: Help your loved one to connect to a support system like 1-800-273-8255
- Follow up: Making contact in the days or weeks after a crisis can make the difference in keeping your friend or loved one alive.
For more from the Health Department, visit orangecountync.gov/362/Suicide-Prevention.
The Chapel Hill Police Department’s Crisis Unit has certified human services professionals available 7 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Monday through Friday at 919-968-2806 and on-call 24/7.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. Call 1-800-273-8255. |
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Board of Commissioners approve new Longtime Homeowner Assistance program
Orange County will launch a new Longtime Homeowner Assistance (LHA) program on Oct. 8 to provide property tax bill assistance to help people stay in their homes. To qualify, homeowners must:
- Live in Orange County;
- Have lived in their home for at least 10 years;
- Have experienced an increase in property taxes due to the 2021 tax revaluation; and
- Earn no more than 80% of the area median income (see income chart below).
Below is a chart showing income limits by family size:- 1--$48,400
- 2--$55,300
- 3--$62,200
- 4--$69,100
- 5--$74,650
- 6--$80,200
- 7--$85,700
- 8--$91,250
Orange County will accept applications starting Oct. 8. Applications must be received by 5 p.m. on Dec. 15, 2021, to allow time for processing.
There are three ways to apply:
1) Online Application Portal:
https://orangecountynchousing.submittable.com/submit
2) Paper Applications:
Pick up a paper application at the Orange County Housing and Community Development Department offices:Completed paper applications can be dropped in the drop boxes outside of the Housing and Community Development offices or mailed to:
Orange County Housing and Community Development
P.O. Box 8181
Hillsborough, NC 27278
3) Phone/Email:
Housing Helpline staff can help people complete and submit applications and to give information on the supporting documentation needed. Call 919-245-2655 or email HousingHelp@orangecountync.gov.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners initiated the LHA Program on June 15, 2021, by allocating $250,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to assist households affected by the 2021 countywide property revaluation. The final program design was approved at its Oct. 5, 2021, business meeting.
For more information about the LHA Program, visit the webpage: https://www.orangecountync.gov/2813/Longtime-Homeowner-Assistance-Program |
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Safer, Alternative Ways to Participate in HalloweenMany traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses. There are several safer, alternative ways to participate in Halloween. If you may have COVID-19 or you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, you should not participate in in-person Halloween festivities and should not give out candy to trick-or-treaters.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says traditional outdoor trick or treating or trunk and treating where treats are handed to children are lower risk this year, but limiting crowds is a good idea.
READ MORE at www.orangecountync.gov/Halloween |
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Free COVID-19 Vaccine ClinicsVaccines are free, and no ID is required! If you are coming for your second dose, please bring your vaccination card with the record of your first dose. Visit our COVID-19 Vaccine page for the most up-to-date information: www.orangecountync.gov/getyourshot.
***Need a third shot because you are immunocompromised?***
Visit our Chapel Hill location Monday through Friday from
8:30am - 4:30pm at 2501 Homestead Rd. The Hillsborough location is not currently offering third shots.
Pop-Up Walk-In Vaccine Clinics
In addition to our regularly scheduled walk-in clinics (see graphic above), the Orange County Health Department is pleased to offer pop-up vaccine clinics to all community members ages 12 and older. No registration required, these are walk-in clinics.
Farmer's Market Pavilion in Hillsborough (next to the Courthouse)
140 E. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC
Wednesday, October 13th from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Flyers: English, Español
CHCCS Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration (Carrboro Farmer's Market)
301 W. Main St., Carrboro, NC
Friday, October 15th from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Flyers: English, Español
Offering only Moderna and Pfizer, not J&J
Last Fridays (at the old Courthouse in Hillsborough)
104 E. King St., Hillsborough, NC
Friday, October 29th from 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Flyers: English/Español
Farmer's Market Pavilion in Hillsborough (next to the Courthouse)
140 E. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough
Wednesday, November 3 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Flyers: English, Español
Farmer's Market Pavilion in Hillsborough (next to the Courthouse)
140 E. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough
Wednesday, November 10 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Flyers: English, Español
Hillsborough Walk-In Clinic Location Change on October 5th!
The clinic will be located at the new Bonnie B. Davis Building at
1020 U.S. 70, Hillsborough. This is directly across the street from the DMV.
New Hours: 9 am to 4:30 pm.
Start Date: 10/5/2021
Days of the week: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays
Vaccine type: Moderna and Pfizer
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NC health director delivers new data that shows masks significantly reduced COVID-19 clusters in schoolsPublished October 7, 2021 at 5:14 PM EDT
State Health Director Dr. Betsey Tilson delivered an update on protective measures in schools to the North Carolina Board of Education on Thursday. Tilson said state health officials have compared the rate of COVID-19 clusters in North Carolina schools without mask mandates to those that require masks. They found masks significantly reduce the risk of clusters.
Among the schools studied:- 3 counties without mask mandates in schools saw an average of 17.2 clusters per 100 schools
- 35 counties with consistent mask mandates did not report a school cluster
- 54 counties with consistent mask mandates saw an average of 6.9 clusters per 100 schools
- 8 counties that reported mask mandates and changed school mask mandates during the study period were excluded
Tilson also cited a CDC study from Arizona that showed schools without a mask requirement are "3 1/2 times more likely to have COVID outbreaks than schools that started the year without a mask requirement."
State Board of Education Member Amy White asked whether child hospitalization and death rates were higher in counties without mask mandates.
Tilson said those rates were too low to provide reliable data, but COVID-19 rates among children do also affect transmission to adults.
Currently, five counties in North Carolina have mask-optional policies.
A map indicating mask policies in schools across North Carolina districts. Under a recent state law, school boards must vote every 30 days on whether to continue mask requirements.
There have been over 1.4 million total cases of COVID-19 in North Carolina since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the latest data from state health officials.
As of Thursday, 54% of the total state population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
WUNC's Laura Pellicer contributed to this report. |
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Indigenous Peoples' Day:
Un-Erasing America's History
Monday, October 11, is Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the U.S.—a day previously recognized as Columbus Day that is now reserved for reflection, education, and rewriting a deceptive history.
Coming up on Monday’s podcast, Sophie Neuner of the Center for American Indian Health talks with Josh Sharfstein about how non-Indigenous people can think about this observance and how Indigenous people are leading on health practices and environmental revitalization.
“Across the U.S., a lot of people have been fed this false narrative of discovery when, really, our history is rooted in genocide,” says Neuner, a member of the Karuk tribe. “To a lot of Natives, Columbus Day represents that violent colonization that’s ongoing.”
For non-Indigenous people, “it’s a day to pause and think about the ways Indigenous people have been erased and to reflect and connect with the land you currently occupy,” Neuner says.
One way to do this: Look up your zip code on the Native Land Map to learn about the tribal people and nations that are the inheritants of the land you live on.
Neuner says it’s also important to celebrate Indigenous-led solutions to environmental and health issues.
For example: Catastrophic wildfires in northern California, Neuner’s home. A century ago, the U.S. banned prescribed burn practices which has led to an overgrowth of forests that are now fueling catastrophic wildfires. Neuner’s Karuk tribe is leading the way on sustainable forestry practices by “tending good fires” to help manage the forests and cut down on underbrush.
Don’t miss: Neuner, an OB-GYN by training, is also the co-host of a new podcast, Indigenae, a “community-grounded podcast celebrating Indigenous womxn’s health and well-being.” Look for weekly episodes here.
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North Carolina COVID-19 Cases
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reports 1,439,938 COVID-19 cases, 17,330 deaths, and 2,277 hospitalizations. 54% of North Carolina's population is fully vaccinated.
There are currently 11,550 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 109 deaths in Orange County. 70% of Orange County residents are fully vaccinated.
For more information regarding live updates (NCDHHS updates the site every day around noon), please visit the NCDHHS website.
Orange County Health Department also has a COVID-19 dashboard webpage, with information on COVID-19 data in the county.
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