October 28, 2020

Harrison County continued to experience a rise in COVID-19 cases, on Tuesday, with a report of 12 new cases.

County Judge Chad Sims noted that of the cumulative total of 1,077 positive cases for the county, 35 have resulted in deaths, 972 have been recoveries and 70 are considered active cases.
Also, on Tuesday, Marshall Independent School District reported three positive confirmed cases of staff members at Marshall Junior High School.

“We also have one recovery to report at David Crockett Elementary,” MISD Public Information Director David Weaver informed.

“This puts us at zero active cases at Crockett and we currently have just one active case total in grades K-5,” said Weaver. “Overall, we currently have 11 active cases in MISD, with 30 recoveries, in a total of 41 cases of COVID-19 in MISD since school began on August 13.”

J. Harris: There is no reason to think that Harrison County cases won’t creep on up.  Both charts show that we still have available ICU beds in Longview and Tyler, but thousands of folks will be needing them. MASK UP, PLEASE.

Association Between Social Vulnerability and a County’s Risk for Becoming a COVID-19 Hotspot — United States, June 1–July 25, 2020
(J. Harris: This is an East Texas translation of this locally important article. We are a sitting duck:)  AREAS MORE LIKELY TO BECOME HOTSPOTS HAVE SOCIAL VULNERABILITIES  Higher representation of racial and ethnic minority residents
 More housing units per structure (big public housing complexes)
 Crowded housing units (i.e., more persons that rooms)
 Away from the big cities
 More inhabitants with disabilities,
 High number of residents with poor English language skills
 Less availability of personal and public transportation
 Residents  who work in facilities requiring in-person work (e.g., meat processing facilities and grocery stores)
 residents, who might be more likely to have essential jobs requiring in-person work and live in potentially crowded conditions
(J. Harris: I would also add  areas whose residents have:
 a. less access to health care, private as well as county or charity
 b. residents whose immigration status is problematic and frightens them away from   seeking timely medical care
 c. residents who have no money or credit or local contacts
  f. ethnic minority residents who work and live together in very crowded conditions)g. residents who are less well educated h. residents who have nowhere else to goi.  residents who live in communities whose traditional residents are less well educated, hard headed, and who are reluctant to abide by reasonable preventive health measures such as masks, social distancing, and avoidance of crowdsj. residents who state and local governments at times cannot or will not demand lawfully available preventive public health ordinances k. many residents are incarcerated in local jails or prisonsl. residents has poor access to mental health amenities 

ARTICLE SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS: Focused public health action in these medical and socially vulnerable counties:1.  Prioritizing vaccination access  2.  Provide plain-language and culturally sensitive and relevant public health messaging which can and should be tailored

Johns’ Hopkins Material:1. FDA Approves First Treatment for COVID-19 The US Food and Drug Administration approved the antiviral drug Veklury (remdesivir) for use in adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older and weighing at least 40 kilograms (about 88 pounds) for the treatment of COVID-19 requiring hospitalization. Veklury should only be administered in a hospital or in a healthcare setting capable of providing acute care comparable to inpatient hospital care. Veklury is the first treatment for COVID-19 to receive FDA approval. (FDA, 10/22/2020)
2.  COMMENTARYThe FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and its Role in Advising the Agency on COVID-19 Vaccines The development of safe and effective vaccines to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or COVID-19 is essential to help bring the pandemic under control. The US Food and Drug Administration is committed to making decisions that are guided by science and data regarding the authorization or approval of COVID-19 vaccines. The process of vaccine development and FDA’s evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of these vaccines is and will continue to be as open and transparent as possible. Why is this so important? Transparency in FDA’s processes can help people feel more confident in receiving COVID-19 vaccines, which is critical to their widespread use. 

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