By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitkans should avoid large gatherings over the holidays, a public health official says, but there are ways to celebrate and stay social without excessive health risks.
Public Health Nurse Denise Ewing told the Sentinel Tuesday that holiday parties should either be held online or in very small groups.
“Nobody should be alone on a holiday unless you choose that, and that’s a time that we are mindful of those around us… We do have to stay mindful of the fact that right now is not the time to have huge parties, huge family gatherings. But there are some great ways to fold that into a new normal. The Zoom Christmas parties that are happening or family gatherings via Zoom – those seem to go over pretty well,” Ewing said.
She recommended Sitkans use digital devices to connect, if possible.
“It helps to Skype or to Instagram or get out that way. And the telephone is an amazing thing. This year is just going to have to be a bit different in that the gatherings have to be kept small and more intimate,” Ewing said.
She noted that outside gatherings of smaller groups can also work.
“Outside is a great thing, just bringing in people that are in your family bubble already. You can bring in those people if you have a small family – social bubble of six people,” she said.
Ewing stressed the need for continued precautions against the coronavirus, even as Phase 1 of vaccine distribution begins. Her precautions extended to Sitkans who have received the vaccine already or will receive it soon.
“It’s not ‘normal’ yet, even though you’ve gotten your shot there are others that haven’t. And you’ve only got one shot, you need two. The world around you is still in a pandemic so we need to keep being vigilant,” she said.
Ewing noted that vaccines aren’t foolproof, and that a vaccinated person can still fall ill and spread the virus.
“Even though you get a flu shot you can still get the flu – it’s no different with this. You don’t want to throw all caution to the wind. (The vaccine is) a layer of protection… so are the masks, so is the social distancing,” she said.
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for COVID-19 have shown to be over 90 percent effective, the New York Times reported on Nov. 20.
The same story, by Carl Zimmer, pointed out that the high rate of efficacy does not paint the entire picture of how well the vaccine will work.
“The clinical trials run by Pfizer and other companies were specifically designed to see whether vaccines protect people from getting sick from Covid-19. If volunteers developed symptoms like a fever or cough, they were then tested for the coronavirus. But there’s abundant evidence that people can get infected with the coronavirus without ever showing symptoms. And so it’s possible that a number of people who got vaccinated in the clinical trials got infected, too, without ever realizing it. If those cases indeed exist, none of them are reflected in the 95 percent efficacy rate. People who are asymptomatic can still spread the virus to others,” Zimmer wrote.
Back in Sitka, Ewing emphasized that even after vaccination, virus precautions must continue.
“Continue to social distance and wear masks when around others or in the public, and keep those mitigations in place,” she said.
The nurse added that a “new normal” likely will not be an automatic return to 2019.
“We don’t know what that new normal might look like. It might look like in Japan where they wear masks when they travel… That might be a new normal for us, maybe not every day all the time, but maybe under certain circumstances… I could see EMS, fire, and health care workers wearing masks, that could be a new normal,” she said.
With the Alaskan winter only two days old, Ewing highlighted the need for self-care as well. She understands that many people are worn down after nine months of a pandemic.
“I completely understand. Everyone is tired, we have been put through something like we’ve never seen before and it has caused us loss and pain and grief, and I completely understand being upset and wanting to have things the way that it once was,” she said, “It’s time to be more mindful what we do to practice self-care and actually take steps in doing so, not just thinking it’s a good idea but actually putting a plan on paper and working it out.”
Spending time outdoors, she said, is a solid start.
Keeping up with virus precautions will help Sitkans keep safe moving forward, Ewing added.
“We are all very tired, and we want things back to normal and so we rush into it a bit quicker than is safe. That’s something we don’t recommend doing… We need to be mindful of other people and make sure that Sitka stays safe and our numbers stay low,” she said.
Sitka coronavirus cases have led to relatively few hospitalizations and no fatalities so far, which Ewing credited to local virus mitigations and the small sample size. As of today, the City of Sitka COVID dashboard lists 261 coronavirus cases in town, with 250 having recovered.
“We’re enjoying not having that (explosion of virus cases) right now because of the mitigations… We are a small sample size so that plays into it. People are testing and isolating. Overall people are doing what they’re doing and when somebody is starting to feel poorly past what they feel is good, our emergency room is taking them in. Even though we’re not seeing deaths. And we have hospitalized five people (in-patient) just in Sitka,” she said.
While the coronavirus vaccine is not yet widely available, Ewing reminded Sitkans to get their flu shots.
“I would recommend the flu shot – it’s not too late to keep yourself well enough to get vaccinated (against the coronavirus),” she said.
Looking at the months ahead, Ewing said Phase 1 COVID vaccines should be complete in January, with Phase 2 providing inoculations to front-line workers in February and March. While she called the timeline a “guesstimate,” Ewing said it’s possible to see vaccination of the general population in the early summer.
