City update: All health care workers will be vaccinated within weeks
Dec. 21, 2020
City and health officials praised the continued downward trend in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations but warned South Dakota’s data remains some of the worst in the nation.
Even though the numbers look significantly better, “we still have a long way to go,” said Dr. Mike Elliott, chief medical officer of Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center.
South Dakota still has the second-highest percent positive test rate in the past seven days, he said.
“About 39 percent of our tests are positive,” he said. “Idaho was the only state in the country with a higher percent positivity rate. We also have the second-lowest number of tests per hundred thousand people. What that should tell us is we need to do more tests.”
South Dakota also is the second-highest state in the country in terms of total reported cases per hundred thousand, he said.
“Our rate is about double what it is across the rest of the country.”
The state is the 14th highest in number of patients hospitalized per hundred thousand. And in the past seven days, South Dakota has the highest daily reported death rate per 100,000, at 12.4 people, compared with the national average of 5.5 people.
“I think these are telling,” Elliott said. “There still is reason to be cautious and to stay vigilant with all of the mitigation strategies.”
He pointed to Brookings, which instituted a mask mandate in September, as an example of how face coverings slow the spread of the virus.
“Since that time, that county per population has been one of the lowest in not just the state but in the entire region,” Elliott said.
“Nobody likes wearing masks. Everybody’s getting tired of it. But there is data that says it works.”
Both health systems said they’re making progress with vaccinations, which started in health care workers last week.
“That has been well received,” said Dr. Mike Wilde, chief medical officer at Sanford USD Medical Center. “It’s interesting as you walk through our vaccination, the energy, the optimism, things we haven’t been accustomed to seeing in 2020. It’s amazing.’
The Moderna vaccine is expected to arrive in Sioux Falls on Tuesday, both health systems said. The plan is to administer it the next several days, take Christmas off and continue through the weekend.
Most of those doses are expected to be given at Sanford and Avera sites outside of Sioux Falls because the freezer requirements for the Moderna vaccine are different from the Pfizer vaccine, making it easier to transport.
The hope is all health care workers and long-term care workers will be vaccinated by mid-January, Elliott said. From there, the health systems will await direction from federal and state officials for the next round of vaccinations.
There have been no major side effects reported in the Avera workforce, Elliott said.
“You can expect a little soreness in your arm; you might have a little low-grade fever. … Those are minor effects of a very effective vaccine, arguably the most effective vaccine that we have ever seen,” he said.
There are faster testing machines coming that also should help continue to manage cases and contact tracing, Wilde said.
“I think there’s hope to concluding this pandemic in the near future,” he said.
