By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
COVID-19 tests are still scarce in this area, but public health officials are being told to prep for a COVID vaccine – whenever it may be available.
In just his second week on the job, new Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Robison reported to the board of health Thursday evening that the tricky part of any COVID vaccine will be the storage.
Depending on the specifics of the vaccine, there are three storage temperatures required, Robison said. The refrigerated version will require storage at between 35 and 46 degrees. The frozen version will need to be kept around 4 degrees. And the ultra cold version will have to be stored in temperatures of minus 76 to minus 120 degrees.
So the health department is planning now to make sure it has adequate refrigeration, Robison said.
Though no date is certain, Robison has been told it could be as soon as November.
“We’ll be ready for it when it arrives,” he said.
Depending on the vaccine, it is possible that two doses may be required, Robison said.
Health Board President Cathy Nelson expressed her concern about the lack of COVID-19 testing being conducted at the health department.
Diane Krill, CEO of the Wood County Community Health Center, said the health department exhausts its 40 test kits each week.
“We’re doing as many as we have available,” Krill said.
When those tests are gone, the health department refers people to other sites.
The health department is looking into getting rapid testing equipment, Krill said.
“It could come in a month. It could come in three months,” she said.
Board member Bob Midden questioned the type of rapid testing that would be available. Some have accuracy rates close to 98%, while others are far less reliable.
“The others have significantly lower specificity and sensitivity,” Midden said.
Ben Batey, the chief health officer at BGSU, reported that the university is ramping up its testing capacity with Wood County Hospital and Falcon Health Center. Next week, BGSU will start doing random testing of asymptomatic students, he said. The goal is to do 400 tests a week.
Batey responded to the criticism from a couple faculty members about the university’s response to COVID-19.
“We understand and we respect that opinion,” he said.
But Batey said the university came up with its plan working with public health officials, emergency management, and the hospital. While it made sense to shut down campus in March, when so much was unknown about the virus, it now makes sense for the university to continue educating with online and in-person classes, he said.
If students do test positive, they will be cared for on campus or quarantine in their off-campus housing.
Students who test positive are not encouraged to go home.
“This is where they live,” Batey said of students. “We want them to stay here.”
While some other universities are telling students to go home if they live within a 400-mile radius of campus, that does not make sense, he said.
“From a public health perspective, we want to keep them where they’re at,” Batey said.
BGSU is not preparing to shut down if a certain threshold of COVID cases is hit. “We may have to make adjustments,” but closure is not planned, he said.
Midden asked Batey about the level of participation among students who are contacted about contact tracing.
Students are being cooperative, Batey said.
“There is a direct recognition that they don’t want to be the one to spread it to their friends,” he said.
Also at Thursday’s meeting, the board approved a contract with BGSU to assist with COVID-19 contact tracing.
Robison reported that a new messaging campaign will be started to convey information to the public on such topics as the COVID reporting from K-12 schools, and the need for flu shots.
