Health Board discusses declining COVID cases, eyes Moderna vaccine

A recent decline in COVID-19 cases, vaccine distribution and a resolution from the Flathead Community Health Center topped a busy agenda for the Flathead County Board of Health during a Thursday meeting.

Health officials noted that new cases and hospitalizations in the area have been steadily declining over the last four weeks. The county currently has about 1,000 active COVID-19 cases, which is about half the number Flathead County was experiencing one month ago. Hospitalizations are also down 50% from what they were in mid-November, with the Flathead City-County Health Department reporting 15 hospitalizations on Thursday.

Prior to Thanksgiving, public health officials feared the holiday gatherings would lead to a spike in new cases. But former Interim Public Health Officer Tamalee St. James Robinson, said that hasn’t been the case and added that she hopes numbers are dropping because the community is adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols.

“It appears we hit the top of our curve four weeks ago. The numbers have continually gone down,” Robinson said. “This has been the first week since I don’t even remember when, that I actually feel like our COVID team is on top of things.”

Robinson said staff at the health department are once again performing contact tracing and investigations on all new cases, which are tasks that got sidelined in early fall when employees could no longer perform those duties under mounting case loads.

Several board members expressed their enthusiasm for the numbers, but emphasized that now is not the time for the community to let its guard down. Pete Heyboer, board member and local physician, said he feels the end of the pandemic might be near, but folks need to “be diligent until that time so we can continue to save more lives.”

BOARD MEMBERS also discussed vaccination efforts and said the health department’s attention and interest has turned to the upcoming Moderna vaccine, which was reviewed and has now been endorsed by the Federal Drug Administration and is a likely candidate for widespread community distribution.

New Chief Public Health Officer Joe Russell said it is unclear at this time how much of Moderna’s vaccine Flathead County will eventually receive, but said the ultimate goal is to have 70% of the local population vaccinated for COVID-19.

Russell acknowledged that hitting that mark may be difficult, given vaccine hesitancy in the area, but said he is confident the health department has been set up for success and has a strong plan laid out for when the time comes.

“I firmly believe we have to keep moving in the right direction. Vaccination is going to get us there and we know how challenging vaccination is going to be in this community,” said Russell, who emphasized that widespread immunization would help keep kids in school and businesses open. “We need to work to keep our children in schools. It keeps our staffing levels in businesses where they should be.”

IN OTHER news, the Flathead Community Health Center also urged the board and health department to adopt and implement an evidence-based public health response to tackle the community’s ongoing battle with COVID.

The center is preparing to separate financially and operationally from the county — a move that other clinics in the state have pursued, including the Community Health Care Center in Great Falls, which recently split from Cascade County and is now operating as Alluvion Health.

A resolution from the health center and its board of directors was presented to the health board as written public comment. Therefore, board members did not need to vote on the matter, but were simply asked to take the information into consideration.

“We [the center and board] have been dismayed by the level of community spread of COVID-19 in Flathead County burdening our healthcare system, challenging our school systems and putting all social services at risk. We further recognize the challenges, physical and emotional, imposed on our community, health-care providers, educators, first responders, and business owners…”

The resolution then goes on to affirm its support for the health department and asked the health board to abide by its statutory duties to “protect the public from the introduction of communicable disease…” and to adopt regulations for the control of those diseases, to follow its public health mission, and more.

There was no further discussion from board members as to whether they would formally adopt the resolution, though member Dr. Annie Bukacek said she would likely vote against the action.

COVID ASIDE, the board discussed matters related to home health, environmental health and communicable diseases.

Lisa Dennison, infectious disease supervisor for the health department, said Flathead County has yet to confirm one case of influenza this season. This time last year, she said the area had experienced 17 cases, one of which resulted in a hospitalization.

“Testing is being done, we just aren’t seeing it yet,” Dennison said. “As you know, flu seasons have a tendency to be very unpredictable.”

Dennison added that she believes COVID-19 safety protocols, such as wearing masks and social distancing, might be a reason Flathead County has yet to see a case of the flu.

Finally, some board members and locals offered their thanks to Robinson, who served as the interim health officer for about six months before announcing her resignation at the end of the year. Robinson has made it clear she will assist with vaccination efforts and will ensure the health department operations are smoothly transferred to Russell, whose first day was Monday.

Robinson is also vacating her seat on the Board of Health at the end of the year. The Flathead County commissioners will choose her successor. Her seat is the only seat now available after the commissioners recently reappointed Roger Noble for another term.

Reporter Kianna Gardner can be reached at 758-4407 or kgardner@dailyinterlake.com