SAGINAW, MI — As COVID-19 virus cases continue to increase and federal guidelines evolve here, public health officials prescribed a mix of risk and fear management to counter the community’s rising anxieties.
“We don’t want fear to drive things,” said Dr. Christina Harrington, health officer at the Saginaw County Health Department.
“We want people to be informed of what is happening. Don’t be fearful of this, realize where we’re at, realize where we’re going, and realize the strategies we’re putting together.”
Saginaw County this week was one of 32 Michigan communities where Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended individuals — including the vaccinated — return to wearing facemasks indoors when in public. It’s a nationwide trend sparked in part by the spread of the Delta variant, a more-virulent mutation of COVID-19. Saginaw County officials report the Delta variant was first detected here in a teenager who tested positive in May.
Saginaw County received the latest mask-related federal guidance — which is not a mandate — on Friday, July 30, when the community surpassed thresholds relating to rising daily virus cases and test positivity rates. The increases followed weeks of COVID-19 spread slowing substantially after a springtime surge.
“I get the frustration of feeling like you’re going backwards,” said Dr. Delicia Pruitt, medical director at the Saginaw County Health Department.
“It’s kind of like post-traumatic stress disorder; you just took a breath, and you felt like you were out of (the pandemic), and now you’re going back to it. The most important thing is to personally do what is right to keep your family safe.”
An MLive map of Michigan's 83 counties based on a the CDC's risk assessment of COVID-19 transmission levels as of Aug. 2, 2021. Individuals in areas of "high" or "substantial" viral transmission should wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status, according to federal health officials. (Scott Levin | MLive.com)
Both doctors recommended the public engage in a “layered approach” of preventative measures, including seeking a COVID-19 vaccine, wearing facemasks when appropriate, washing hands frequently, and practicing social distancing.
“We have lots of tools in the toolbox,” Harrington said. “None of our strategies are 100%, but when we layer our strategies, we can reduce transmission. The masking is so controversial — that’s what everyone wants to talk about — but other things are still tools in the toolbox.”
Harrington said, while Saginaw County and statewide pandemic-related numbers continue to trend in the wrong direction, Michigan is faring relatively well compared to states in the South struggling with the spreading virus.
As of Wednesday, Aug. 4, Michigan was ranked no. 46 out of 50 states when viewing average daily new cases through a per-capita lens, according to data provided by the Brown School of Public Health.
There were eight new daily cases of the virus per 100,000 residents in Michigan on average over the last week. By comparison, the state faring worst in the U.S. was Florida, with 129 new daily cases per 100,000 residents on average over the same period. The per-capita calculation allows public health officials to eliminate a community’s population size as a factor when measuring virus case trends.
Despite other states reporting worst surges, Michigan experienced a 166% increase in average daily new cases over the last two weeks, data showed.
Pruitt continued to endorse COVID-19 vaccines for eligible residents, which includes individuals 12 and older.
“This vaccine is 95% effective,” she said. “If you come across a person with COVID-19 100 times, 5% of the time, you will get it.”
Vaccination reduces the severity of symptoms during those rare occasions when vaccinated individuals catch the virus. Pruitt said “the vast majority” of recent COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths in Saginaw County involved unvaccinated people.
Federal data suggests that’s a trend across the nation. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials say 97% of all people hospitalized because of COVID-19 are unvaccinated.
Since Saginaw County’s vaccine-eligible population crossed the 50% vaccination threshold in mid-July, numbers haven’t improved much. As of Wednesday, 50.4% of the eligible population was vaccinated, federal data shows.
Of the total population – which includes residents 11 and younger not yet eligible for a vaccine – 43.4% of Saginaw County was vaccinated. That compares to 49% in Michigan and 49.7% nationally.
Pruitt and Harrington discussed the vaccine program and the state of the virus in Saginaw County during a Wednesday Facebook Live session.
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