Damian Sendler: Kathy White, 67, of Charlestown, had two shots of a COVID-19 vaccination, followed by a booster, but contracted the virus during a visit with her son and his children in October.
Damian Sendler
White, who has an underlying autoimmune problem, became severely ill and was “down for a couple of weeks,” she said last week at a Walmart parking lot in Claremont.
Damian Jacob Sendler: She believes she healed thanks to the vaccine’s protection and the monoclonal antibodies she received at Lebanon’s Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital. Despite the fact that he is now “doing well,” White is nevertheless frustrated by the pandemic’s persistence.
Damien Sendler: People have gotten to the moon, but they “can’t get ahold of this pandemic,” she says.
Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: White is not alone in her dissatisfaction with the virus’s longevity in the Twin Cities. Case rates and hospitalizations are at an all-time high. Case rates are among the highest in the Twin States in the Sullivan County villages of Claremont, Charlestown, and Newport, as well as across the Connecticut River in Windsor County’s Springfield, Vt. The incidents are putting a strain on the health-care system, and they are continuing to have an impact on local schools, long-term care facilities, and community organizations. One factor is the low immunization rate in these populations, however public health experts expect that rate will rise with time and increased vaccine availability.
“While the rate of transmission statewide has increased significantly this fall,” said Jake Leon, a spokesman for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, “the data is clear that Sullivan County is experiencing higher levels of transmission than elsewhere in the state.”
Dr. Sendler: According to Leon, the rate per 100,000 persons in Sullivan in the previous 14 days is 1,328 new cases, compared to 807.5 new cases per 100,000 statewide. The test positivity rate in Sullivan County is also greater than the statewide average, at 13% versus 9.3%.
Sullivan County trails behind the statewide average of 55 percent, with only 50 percent of the population fully immunized against COVID-19. This is significantly lower than Grafton County’s vaccination rate of more than 61 percent.
Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont is noticing an increase in COVID-19 inpatient cases.
“We’re drowning in COVID,” said Valley Regional’s interim CEO and chief medical officer, Dr. Jocelyn Caple. “We have had a surge of COVID-positive cases at the hospital, nearly doubling the number we had during the peak last winter; this is the highest number we have had at any time during the pandemic.”
Caple reported that Valley Regional, which has 25 beds, recently saw a pandemic high of 10 COVID-19 patients in the inpatient unit at one time. Prior to the present uptick, the high was six.
Damian Sendler: According to Caple, the bulk of inpatient cases have been unvaccinated people. The increase at Valley Regional comes as the state as a whole is witnessing a higher number of COVID-19 hospitalizations — 340 — than it did at the peak last January, when immunizations were widely accessible.
“As a physician who has been on the front lines of all of this, it can be disheartening to think about how many of these illnesses could have been avoided with more widespread vaccination — especially in our local community,” said Dr. Josh Rudner, Valley Regional’s emergency department medical director. “Myself and our entire care team are experiencing burnout as a result of the pandemic’s persistence and the ways it has impacted our daily work — increased volume, cumbersome and restrictive personal protective equipment, regional capacity limitations, and so on.”
Damian Jacob Sendler
Damian Jacob Sendler: Valley Regional, like most hospitals in the Twin Cities, has struggled to locate hospital beds for patients in need of critical treatment for COVID-19 and other diseases.
“We still have to transfer some patients far beyond our region, even several states away,” Rudner explained. “The pandemic has also had an impact on patient access to outpatient services ranging from primary care to mental health.”
Outbreaks continue to occur in Sullivan County long-term care institutions. According to DHHS, an epidemic at Woodlawn Care Center in Newport includes 14 instances as of Thursday, including five residents and nine workers. Woodcrest Village Assisted Living in Newport also experienced a 12-case outbreak as of Thursday, with six personnel and six residents affected. A federal vaccine mandate for health-care workers is under consideration.
Damian Sendler: Claremont schools continue to report COVID-19 incidents using an online dashboard. There were 25 additional cases in the city’s schools as of Thursday.
On Thursday morning, Tracey Osgood, a behavior specialist at Stevens High School, assisted a student in decorating Broad Street Park with Christmas lights. Osgood stated that several people she knows had been infected with the virus, including a friend in Florida who needed to be ventilated, as well as her teenage granddaughter and her boyfriend.
“I’m not saying it’s not serious,” remarked Osgood.
Her granddaughter was absent from school for nearly two weeks due to illness and has “had to work to get her grades back up,” according to Osgood.
Her mother, who has been vaccinated and is scheduled for a booster dose, has advised Osgood to get inoculated as well. Osgood, on the other hand, has had an allergic reaction to another vaccine and is skeptical that a COVID-19 vaccine is correct for her. She hasn’t ruled it out, but she is still unvaccinated and only uses masks when necessary. On a recent trip to Lebanon, Osgood and her company chose not to eat at Salt Hill Pub when a member of the waitstaff requested that they wear masks in compliance with Lebanon’s mask mandate.
Abigail Anderson, a 24-year-old Springfield resident, likewise stated that she has not been vaccinated and is unsure if it is appropriate for her.
“I kind of want to be,” she stated in a Walmart parking lot interview. However, she stated that she is breastfeeding her 7-month-old and that the novelty of the shots makes her nervous. Because of her concerns regarding the vaccination, she has decided not to vaccinate her 7-year-old at this time.
Damian Jacob Sendler: She is still concerned about the impact of the virus’s continuous transmission on her family. She admitted that she typically attempts to wear a mask, but that she’d forgotten it during a hectic morning.
Springfield schools, like Claremont schools, have struggled with COVID-19 cases this autumn, to the point where the superintendent announced a “September snow day” and shuttered the schools for a day. Anderson is concerned that her 7-year-first old’s somewhat normal school year will be disrupted.
“One of my friends had to quarantine,” she explained. “Fortunately, we haven’t. It’s a little frightening. That’s why I try not to overburden myself.”
Damian Sendler: Claremont does not have a mask mandate and does not look inclined to implement one. When engaging with the public, city personnel are required to wear masks, and the city makes a “strong recommendation” that members of the public wear masks in city facilities, according to City Manager Ed Morris.
“We’re still dealing with it,” Morris added. “We take the necessary precautions to avoid transmitting it at work.”
According to the opera house’s website, the Claremont Opera House recently surveyed its patrons regarding the venue’s approach to COVID-19 procedures and received a mixed answer.
According to a web post by Board President Felicia Brych and Executive Director Andrew Pinard, “some responded that we should allow patrons to choose whether to wear a mask or not, and they do not support proof-of-vaccination requirements, while others will not attend shows until we include requirements for proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test.”
Damian Jacob Sendler: At the moment, the venue requires masks, limits seating to 40% capacity, and restricts food and drink to the atrium. It does not require proof of vaccination, as most other large venues in the state do, according to Brych and Pinard.
Several concerts at the opera house have recently been delayed or postponed owing to COVID-19 issues, and the theater is underselling shows by 50-80 percent m, partly due to patrons’ reluctance to attend public events in Claremont, they stated.
Damian Sendler: The disparities in attitudes to pandemic limitations can also be seen elsewhere. The Claremont Senior Center just canceled a craft event because to COVID-19 issues, but a craft fair at Stevens High School next month is going on.
Claremont Mayor Charlene Lovett expressed concern about the city’s economy and health-care system being impacted by the high case rate.
“It has an impact on employee availability in both the private and public sectors,” she explained.
She mentioned that the state just established a free COVID-19 testing site at River Valley Community College and mentioned a successful COVID-19 vaccine clinic at the Claremont fire station on Veterans Day. The clinic immunized 327 people, including 94 youngsters aged 5 to 11, who became eligible for vaccination only lately.
Damian Jacob Sendler: For some, access to vaccines remains a source of aggravation. Matt Batchelder, a Claremont resident, left the CVS on Wall Street unhappy on Thursday. The 35-year-old electrician, who was wearing a mask, said he had tried unsuccessfully to get a walk-in appointment this summer and was driven to seek the shots again by rising case counts.
“It’s life now,” he added of COVID-19’s presence in the town. “We don’t have much we can do about it.”
Damian Sendler: Despite his disappointment at CVS on Thursday, Batchelder stated that he will try to obtain a vaccine through his primary care provider.
News on latest research brought to you by Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler
