DAYTON–A community-wide Town Hall Meeting was hosted by Martha Lanman, Public Health Administrator for Columbia County, with Columbia County Health System’s CEO Shane McGuire and COO Stephanie Carpenter on Tuesday, January 12. Some 70 Zoom meeting participants heard topics including Governor Inslee’s new phases as laid out in his “Healthy Washington-Roadmap to Recovery Plan,” the vaccine phases and a vaccination sign-up.

The Governor’s new two-phased approach to easing the current COVID-19 restrictions divides the state into regions. Each region has to advance as whole to meet criteria for moving from Phase 1 to Phase 2. Though case counts have been relatively low and most recently in the single digits, Columbia County is in the South-Central Region which includes all of the Tri-Cities and Yakima. This placement is based on Emergency Management Services determination of available healthcare services and case numbers including hospitalization and deaths.

With this new plan, it will be more difficult to move into and remain in Phase 2. The criteria are:

-Decreasing trend in two-week rate of COVID-19 cases per 100K population (decrease >10%)

-ICU occupancy (total — COVID-19 and non-COVID-19) of less than 90%

-COVID-19 test positivity rate of <10%

-Decreasing trend in two-week rate new COVID-19 hospital admission rates per 100K population (decrease >10%)

To remain is Phase 2, three of the above criteria must be met.

Most affected by the shutdowns since the beginning have been eating, drinking, entertainment, recreation and fitness establishments. In the current plan, those remain severely restricted and with the region-based approach, it is difficult to conceive when the restrictions will ease into Phase 2. On a positive note, live entertainment is allowed in the plan but only following the restrictions or small group gatherings and gyms are allowed to open with limited capacity. In contrast, in-home, small gatherings remain prohibited.

County resident and local businessman Mike Spring expressed concern over getting out of the regional approach. Lanman said the best course of action is for the community to continue what they’ve been doing by following the guidelines to keep the numbers low. She and McGuire both agreed that it’s important for the public to contact the local representatives.

“The one thing that the Governor’s Office is sensitive to is your input,” McGuire said to those on the meeting. “If we don’t like the structure of how something is or how something is being dictated or provided to us, the public voice is very welcomed and encouraged, and reach out to your representatives and talk to them and encourage communication up to the Governor’s Office.

“We work very closely with the Washington State Hospital Association, we work hard to provide this feedback to the legislators through our channels, but oftentimes we find the voice that means the most is the one of the citizens. What they really want to hear is from their constituents,” he continued.

“We have the same goal that you have which is we want to vaccinate our community, to get our community rolling full steam ahead,” McGuire said. “We want to do this responsibly. We want to do this within the guidelines that have been given to us so that we can maintain the flow of vaccines in our community.”

As for the vaccine, the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Columbia County late last month. The Columbia County Health System was given 300 single-dose vaccines to administer to those who fall under the Washington State Department of Health (WSDOH) Phase 1, Tiers A1 and A2, which is for those who work in healthcare, are first responders or reside in a rest home.

Phase 1, Tier B1 availability is scheduled this month according to WSDOH. “Right now, our priority is getting vaccines to people quickly so that we can stay on track and hit our goals of moving into Phase 1B by the middle of January,” said Assistant Secretary Michele Roberts, one of the leaders of the State’s vaccine effort.

Tier B1 includes people aged 70 years and older and those aged 50 and older living in multigenerational households. B2 is slated to begin in February and each B Tier following at regularly monthly intervals through April. There currently is not a plan released for further Phases or Tiers but it is planned to continue the distribution throughout the year.

County residents are to call the Public Health Office at 509-382-2181 to be placed in the list for when the vaccine is available for their phase or with any questions.

As of now, only the Moderna vaccine has been given to Columbia County, which according to the WSDOH is 94% effective after the two doses. It’s unclear whether the County will receive the Pfizer vaccine but it is similarly effective at 95% after two doses. Individuals are not considered fully protected until up to two weeks after the second dose is administered. For Columbia County, second doses of the vaccine will be automatically shipped according to Lanman.

The Moderna vaccine is released in lots of 100 compared to 950 for the Pfizer vaccine, Lanman said. The smaller lots apparently are better suited to smaller counties, she said, except it requires a second shot after 28 days.

Both vaccines have been reviewed and passed for safety by Scientific Safety Review Workgroup. According to the WSDOH, the most common side effects of the Moderna vaccine are very mild including pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache and muscle soreness. The Pfizer vaccine lists the same common side effects but at a significant lower occurrence. Additional vaccines are being released by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

Interestingly, Susan Kaech, professor and director of the NOMIS Center for Immunobiology and Microbial Pathogenesis stated as laid out in a safety efficacy study from The Lancet, “Either of the authorized vaccines will protect against severe cases of coronavirus disease. Most vaccines also prevent the illness from being transmitted, though it is not yet known whether any of the coronavirus vaccines stop people from being infected with and then spreading the virus. Preliminary evidence suggests that the AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines may reduce transmission.”

According to the Lancet study, “Further evidence will be required to determine duration of protection and the need for additional booster doses of vaccine.”