Covid wave record in Flagler and hospital as variant slams unvaccinated, dividing community into 2 camps

The now-dominant Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is 50% more contagious than its predecessor, itself 50% more contagious than the original virus, resulted in the fastest wave of covid cases from week to week. another in Flagler, going from 88 cases two weeks ago, 240 cases last week and 360 cases this week – 52 cases a day – according to the Flagler Health Department. On Wednesday alone, the Flagler Health Department conducted 75 case investigations. With the week ending June 3, there were only five cases per day.

Hospitalizations at AdventHealth Palm Coast and Advent Hospital in Daytona Beach are unprecedented. In Palm Coast, hospitalizations for covid broke a record Tuesday, with 32 people hospitalized (and six in intensive care), and broke the record again yesterday, with 37 hospitalizations (the resuscitation number was not available).

But in such a stark rift as the covid pandemic has caused, those most seriously affected are almost all unvaccinated. “In AdventHealth’s 41 hospitals in seven states,” says an internal AdventHealth document that circulated this week, “about 95% of the 12,700 COVID-19 patients treated this year were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. Fortunately, current vaccines appear to improve the severity of the disease, as we haven’t seen many hospitalizations in the vaccinated population. The Associated Press reports that nationwide, fewer than 1,200 hospitalizations out of more than 107,000 Covid-19s affect the unvaccinated, or about 1.1% of hospitalizations.

In an even sharper division, more than 99% of the 300 people who die from covid every day are unvaccinated or have only been partially vaccinated – a proportion that applies to all deaths from covid in the past six months. In other words: the unvaccinated unleashed deadly, daily carnage on the unvaccinated.

“When it comes to people who refuse to be vaccinated, my message is this,” said Bob Snyder, director of the Flagler health department this morning. “You have the right to say no, but it’s one thing you don’t get vaccinated to protect yourself. But it’s another thing to put others at risk. And that can include family members, elderly neighbors, complete strangers that you pass through Publix or the grocery store who may be unvaccinated like you, but unintentionally pass this virus on to others, and then they get it. pass it on to others. And that, for me, I find that unacceptable. And I find it heartbreaking. It’s about as brutal and harsh as I would like to get it.

But vaccinations have stalled in Flagler and the rest of Florida. “We have been 59% of the eligible population now vaccinated in the past three weeks, 59% of our community, eligible,” Snyder said. But the actual number, at the population level, is 52 percent. “And that equates to last Friday which was equivalent to 61,632 people. And that has hardly changed. Of course, we’re doing a little bit, but it’s nowhere near the volume we were doing two months ago, in terms of vaccinating people. “

There is no immediate plan in the Flagler County or Flagler Beach government to change meeting or event protocols. “For the moment, no change. But if this trend continues, it will have to be a conversation going forward, ”Flagler Beach City Manager William Whitson said this morning. “Any flare that is starting to happen is from the unvaccinated, so I would encourage and the city would encourage people to do the right thing now.”

“The City of Palm Coast has not changed any policies or procedures at this time,” a city spokesperson said this morning. “We continue to have a work-from-home policy that employees can use when needed. The 911 communications center has reimplemented Covid screening questions for medical fire calls. Our fire department has recommended PPE to their first responders since the start of the pandemic and which is still in place. The Department of Health continues to recommend that people go for the vaccine if they haven’t already. We inform employees that if they wish to receive the vaccine, it is available free of charge at the health service and at all local pharmacies. “

Palm Coast is in the midst of a special election for mayor, culminating on July 27 with an in-person vote. Early voting is underway until Saturday. “We cannot require voters to wear a mask or a face covering, or during the 2020 election cycle,” Election Supervisor Kaiti Lenhart, who heads elections for the city, said today. “Many of our workers prefer to wear a mask. Others have been vaccinated and have chosen not to wear one. For those who have not been vaccinated, we encourage them to wear a mask or face cover. With just one run on the ballot, the voting process doesn’t take very long. There were a few who waited to vote when the polls opened at 10:00 am, otherwise no lines. Voters don’t spend a lot of time together in the polling room.

To those worried about mingling too closely with others, Lenhart recommends taking advantage of the final days of early voting specifically at the Election Station in Bunnell (at the Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard), where turnout has been lower than at the two other advance polling locations.

The school board had not yet answered questions before the initial publication of this article.

The local health department has also not proposed any changes, or is not aware of any course changes on the part of the school board, which is preparing to fully reopen schools, with no remote options (other than the standard virtual school option that was in place before the pandemic). The back-to-school “jam” is scheduled for August 7 at Flagler Palm Coast High School. But, said Snyder, “if you are not vaccinated. You should reconsider wearing a mask, especially when you are in indoor gathering places.”

In the central Florida region of AdventHealth’s facilities, which include about 20 hospitals and emergency rooms, 720 patients have been hospitalized with Covid, surpassing the May peak of 500 inpatients. In January, it was 900. “I’ll tell you the rate of increase is a bit of a concern,” Dr. Neil Finkler, clinical director of the Adventhealth Central Florida division, said in a morning briefing. “We are now seeing the fastest rate of increase we have seen in this whole pandemic.

The chance of a patient arriving at a CentraCare facility with an illness is one in four that the patient has covid. Just a month ago, it was a 7% chance.

Masking is again essential. “Our biggest problem with this virus is the asymptomatic spread,” said Dr Tim Hendricks, senior medical director of Adventhealth Centracare. “So we’re seeing people who have the virus, don’t know they have the virus and have the potential to spread. So as the numbers increase in the community and there is a higher rate of transmission in our community, it is best that we all wear masks because even though we are vaccinated there may still be cases. revolutionary and there is always the possibility of transmission. So it is safer for everyone to wear masks at this time because we know they are very effective. Evidence shows that a mass can stop transmission of the virus by 70-80% in terms of effectiveness. “

The AdventHealth system in central Florida is back on yellow status, with limited or delayed elective surgeries, visitation restrictions in place, and masking requirements even in non-clinical spaces. Outpatient sites, pediatric surgery laboratories are continuing as planned. Regarding visits, patients who do not have a covid will not be allowed more than two visitors at a time. Covid-positive patients will be entitled to one visitor per day, or two adult caregivers per day if the patient is under 18.

The system’s many hospitals allow it to transfer patients from overwhelmed hospitals to non-overwhelmed hospitals, and it has the ability in Palm Coast and elsewhere to convert regular beds into intensive care beds, although this was not yet needed this time. about.

Doctors attribute 85 percent of all covid cases to the Delta variant. “We are seeing groundbreaking cases,” Finkler said, “but the vast majority of people who have been vaccinated and contract Covid have mild cases. And they rarely require hospitalization and even more rarely an intensive care unit stay, and in fact in our facilities today, around 95% of all of our inpatient beds for Covid positive patients are in the unvaccinated. “

In Palm Coast, the average age of hospital patients was 67 years old. Today, the average age is 47. “I don’t see any difference between African American, white, Hispanic, it’s just generally the younger population groups obviously haven’t decided to get the vaccine,” Snyder said. The department is carrying out a radio campaign to vaccinate more people. It will register children to encourage younger people to get vaccinated. It is to encourage the hesitant to speak with their attending physician or with officials of the Ministry of Health “so that we can guide you and answer your questions from the data,
evidence-based perspective, but listen to your concerns.

What about these groundbreaking cases – cases of covid infections in vaccinated people? “These vaccines, especially Moderna and Pfizer, with this mRNA technology, they’re protecting all of us, the majority of us, and they’re still 95% effective,” Snyder said. “Yes, we are seeing revolutionary cases, but they are rare, and if there is one revolutionary case, the evidence indicates that people have less severe illness and they don’t end up in hospital.”

Locally, there is no proof of death of a vaccinated person. And where there is evidence in the United States, it is almost statistically insignificant: Texas has recorded 9,000 Covid deaths since February. Only 43 were vaccinated (0.5 percent). The Pfizer vaccine is 88% effective against symptomatic cases of the delta variant, reports the Texas Tribune, “and 96% effective against hospitalizations, according to Yale Medicine. Researchers are still studying the effectiveness of the Moderna vaccine against the delta variant, but believe it might work similarly to Pfizer. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine is less effective, as are some vaccines used in Europe.

“And isn’t it better to get vaccinated to avoid getting sick, getting Covid disease, ending up in the hospital,” Snyder said. “I mean, all you have to do is look around and see what’s going on, nationally, regionally in every county in the state. I mean going from five cases a day to 52 cases a day is just an incredible increase, and that should tell us a lot. “

It was “all preventable, all avoidable, all avoidable,” Snyder said.