The Little League World Series represented a micro-model of how halting the spread of the coronavirus in a community is achievable, according to Barbara Hemmendinger, a retired family medicine educator and member of the Lycoming County Health Improvement Coalition.
“With good medical advice and everyone’s participation, they were really able to keep everybody safe from getting a COVID infection,” Hemmendinger said. “Everybody had to do their part.”
Despite Lycoming County breaching into the high level of COVID-19 transmissions mid-series, Little League International reported no COVID cases during the span of its world series.
Little League officials separated the teams into pods, and either required vaccination or daily tests for those interacting with the players to keep all parties safe. Players could not see their parents and were tested every day as well.
Hemmendinger said the county at-large can learn from the example set by implementing similar plans informed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance and local medical experts.
The Loyalsock Township School Board recently turned back on a former decision and voted to mask all students in its district during a special meeting until it could make a more permanent decision at its Sept. 8 meeting.
However, it remains the only public school district to mandate mask-wearing in the halls of its buildings.
“That’s concerning, because children can spread the virus as well as anybody,” Hemmendinger said. “In order for schools to remain open and not have a significant amount of students in quarantine due to exposure, they need to have proper, layered mitigation.”
To that point, Hemmendinger emphasized the Delta variant is in Pennsylvania as all counties have reported a high rate of transmission as of Sunday, and that West Virginia and Ohio are both experiencing surges.
“While the south has been hard-hit all summer, we’re starting to see some of that now,” Hemmendinger said.
The CDC looks at two indicators to determine a transmission level in counties.
If more than 100 people per 100,000 people in a county’s population test positive for the coronavirus in the past seven days, that county has a high level of transmission. Alternatively, if more than 10 percent of all COVID tests conducted identify positive cases in the past seven days, a county has a high level of transmission.
As of Monday, Lycoming County has had 200.35 new COVID-19 cases in the past seven days per 100,000 people, with a test positivity rate of 10.43 percent, just meeting the second indicator and meeting more than double what is required for the first, according to the CDC.
“That’s concerning,” Hemmendinger said.
Lycoming County leads neighboring counties with this count; Union County sits at 111.3 COVID-positive cases out of 100,000 people in its population in the past seven days, while Clinton County has 108.72 positive cases out of 100,000 people in its population in the past seven days.
According to CDC data, 55% of Pennsylvania’s population is fully vaccinated, while the United States is 52.4% vaccinated. Union County treads behind that rate at 49.8 percent vaccinated, followed by Lycoming County at 44.2% vaccinated and Clinton County at 36.4% vaccinated.
Hemmendinger mentioned that last week, the Food and Drug Administration delivered full approval to the Pfizer vaccine, now marketed as Comirnaty.
“While millions of people have already safely received COVID-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated. Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the U.S.,” Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said.
As for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, Hemmendinger said they are still classified as having emergency use authorization–meaning that “the known and potential benefits of that product outweigh the known and potential risks,” according to the FDA.
The Link LonkAugust 31, 2021 at 11:30AM
https://www.sungazette.com/news/top-news/2021/08/hic-little-league-sets-example-for-covid-mitigation/
HIC: Little League sets example for COVID mitigation - Williamsport Sun-Gazette
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