Covid-19 cases on the rise in Berrien County

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Covid-19 cases on the rise in Berrien County

SPECTRUM HEALTH ‘BUSTING AT THE SEAMS,’ SEEING PATIENTS IN HALLWAYS

As Covid-19 cases continue to rise, Berrien County continues to stay in the high transmission category, a position that it’s held since August.

Dr. Rex Cabaltica, MD, Berrien County medical director and family medicine physician, said during a Zoom call on Dec. 8 that, over about a month ago, the county was seeing a plateau in cases; however, as of early December, it’s been a different story.

The county’s seven-day average of new Covid cases from Dec. 7-13, was about 519.4 new cases per 100,000 residents, according to state data from Dec. 14. In addition, the county’s positivity rate was at 26 percent.

“Our positivity rate has never been as high as it is now,” Cabaltica said, adding that it’s about as high as it was a year ago, when the county experienced its surge in cases.

At a 2.3 percent increase, the 0 to 11 age group has been experiencing the greatest increase in Covid cases – which is “not surprising,” he said, given that only recently that 5- to 11-year-old children have been given the green light to receive the Pfizer vaccine.

Dr. Loren Hamel, president of Spectrum Health Lakeland, said that Spectrum is full across the state.

“We’re busting at the seams – we have folks in the hallways, we have opened up new clinical areas to put patients and waiting areas and beds because we’re so full…Waits in the emergency department have never been longer,” he said.

On Dec. 8, he said they were at about 80 Covid patients, which is where it was at about a year ago; however, the positivity rate has doubled.

“Fatigue is at an all-time high, there’s staffing crisis around the state and across Spectrum Health and Spectrum Health Lakeland and so it’s as busy as it’s ever been at a normally busy time of year and before influenza has hit us hard…We’re concerned,” Hamel said.

On Dec. 8, Cabaltica said that the Omicron variant detected in South Africa late last month so far seems more transmissible but doesn’t seem to be causing as severe of disease. He added that there is evidence that it may be able to evade some of the protections of the protection offered through the Pfizer vaccine, which is the vaccine that’s primarily used in South Africa.

On Dec. 9, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Kent County Health Department had been notified of a case of the Omicron variant in a Kent County resident.

Cabaltica added that, so far, it looks like the booster will help continue to protect you against severe disease and death.

Hamel said that the new variant is spreading “markedly faster” than the Delta variant and the transmission rate is “running higher.”

“We expect this to spread across the globe and give us a fifth surge,” he said.

According to data from across the country and from across Spectrum’s 13 county service area, Hamel said those who are unvaccinated are six times more likely to get sick and 10 times more likely go to the hospital as well as 10 times more likely die.

For those who are 50 and over and have diabetes and hypertension, their chances of going to the hospital or dying may be 40 or 50 times greater than those statistics.

“Vaccines are working, there’s no questions about that – is it perfect? No. Do the antibodies wane? Yes. Might boosters help prolong that? Of course - but we know the vaccines are a much safer way to get an immune response than is the disease,” Hamel said.

BY FRANCESCA SAGALA