On pandemic's 2nd anniversary, health officials urge caution even as COVID-19 rates fall

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) – Two years after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, many have grown tired of wearing masks and social distancing, but officials are still urging caution even as infection numbers decrease.

In Hendersonville, North Carolina, AdventHealth Chief Medical Officer Dr. Teresa Herbert said the hospital saw its fewest cases over the past week, with just three individuals hospitalized for COVID-19.

However, Dr. Herbert cautioned case rates will continue to fluctuate. That could especially be true with upcoming vacations and spring break trips.

"I'd anticipate we'll continue to see spikes and admissions, especially around times following holidays or mass travel or big events in your community," she said. "So, we're prepared for that. We have treatments to help with that, so that's really good news, but COVID is not going away."

Herbert reflected on the past two years of the pandemic, having just reached the two-year mark on March 11, 2022. She recalled what it was like as cases began to surge in western North Carolina and supplies were thin.

"Infusion pumps, IV tubing, IV saline, many, many medications became on very short stock or unavailable," Herbert said. "The medications we use to put people to sleep, general anesthesia were being diverted to COVID patients, so we had shortages there that had to be addressed, so we had to be incredibly flexible these last two years."

Hospitals across the mountain and AdventHealth have struggled with recruiting staff to fill the early retirement of senior registered nurses and physicians. According to Dr. Herbert, many places have struggled in every aspect of delivering health care in every setting.

"We've had to change the way we think about health care delivery. We've had to change our workflows, of coming into buildings to get health care," Dr. Herbert said. "We've done a lot more telehealth and remote health care. We've had a healthcare workforce shortage which has been really quite devastating at times."

Since the pandemic's initial surge, we've come a long way. Dr. Herbert recalled the spring of 2020 when testing was in short supply and required special permissions.

Two years later, the U.S. government will send out at-home tests to your doorstep, free of charge. Testing is also widely available at local pharmacies, doctors' offices, and special clinics.

Dr. Herbert, however, also stressed COVID-19 is here to stay. It's not going away, so the focus has shifted on how we live with the virus. She expects we'll see more variants of the coronavirus throughout 2022 and in the future, which means we need to take the lessons learned over the last two years and apply them going forward.

According to Dr. Herbert, that means we're all responsible for infection prevention which includes masking when needed, social distancing and hand washing.

The CDC recommends flu vaccination every year for everyone 6 months and older. Vaccination is the best way to prevent infection with the flu. Vaccination can also make illness milder for those who do get the flu, making it especially important for those at higher risk of more serious outcomes, such as people over 65 years old, children younger than 5, pregnant women and those with certain medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

Flu and COVID-19 vaccines can be administered at the same visit. The CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 5 years of age and older and COVID-19 booster shots for everyone 12 years of age and older when eligible.

Flu vaccinations are available at hospitals, pharmacies, private medical offices, federally qualified health care centers and local health departments.