OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) - Douglas County Health Director Dr. Adi Pour and other officials provided an update on the local coronavirus pandemic response at Wednesday’s Board of Health meeting.
She also announced her retirement.
Andrea Skolkin with OneWorld Community Health Centers said the number of patient visits they’ve seen went down in the last year, somewhat due to school closings and no longer using school-based health centers.
OneWorld is working with Douglas County and the state to get vaccines. They are phasing out Pfizer despite being able to store the vaccine and are moving to Moderna to keep tracking simple.
Employees with OneWorld are 84% vaccinated and 64% of those in the 65+ range are vaccinated.
Skolkin added that five meatpacking plants will soon be eligible for vaccination and will receive the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Additionally, Stolkin said technology, language, culture and work hours are among some of the barriers with vaccination. What helps are social media posts urging people to get vaccinated, Spanish town halls and working to dispel rumors surrounding vaccination.
Dr. Sade Kosoko-Laski with Creighton University also spoke and discussed what vaccine promotional material minority groups trust and best connect with.
Douglas County Health Director Dr. Adi Pour said last week, 836 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the community. She said the county is seeing a decrease, but stressed that the virus is still here.
Dr. Pour added that the county is seeing a decrease in deaths, mentioning that 84% of Douglas County’s total of 675 deaths have involved those 65 and older.
“Definitely the burden is on our elderly,” Dr. Pour said.
She added that 92 COVID-19 patients are in area hospitals.
Two variants of COVID-19 have been seen in Douglas County over the last two weeks — three UK variants and 10 California variants.
Dr. Pour said 15.9% of the Douglas County population has been fully vaccinated, adding that there needs to be more outreach to the minority population to encourage them to get a vaccine.
She mentioned that we are still in a race with the virus.
“What comes in goes out in the same week. We are not sitting on doses,” Dr. Pour said.
Watch the meeting below or on our Facebook page.
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