Can all your kids now get COVID-19 vaccines in Buncombe? How are virus levels pre-July 4?

ASHEVILLE - June was a good month for the ongoing fight against COVID-19 in Buncombe County, which now has vaccinations for children between 6 months and 5 years old, along with a drop in its recently spiking COVID wastewater levels.

Buncombe received its Moderna vaccine shipment for "neighbors" younger than 5, as Public Health Director Stacie Saunders called them June 21, speaking to Board of Commissioners about ongoing local vaccination efforts.

The department vaccinated its first child in the 6-months to 5-years age group that morning.

The next day, it received a Pfizer vaccine shipment.

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"I know this is a really exciting time for some of our families and caregivers in our community," Saunders said. "We share your excitement and we provided over 30 vaccinations today, on Day 1. That is extremely gratifying and exciting for our staff."

Buncombe has joined the state in an effort to vaccinate children ages 6 months through 5 years after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced June 18 the Pfizer and Moderna shots were recommended for that age group.

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For areas outside of Buncombe County Health and Human Services' 40 Coxe Ave. location where the vaccine is offered for children in this age group, vaccinated can visit vaccines.gov/search.

"As with all routine vaccinations for children, these vaccines were tested and reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC and their independent scientific committees to ensure they are safe for children," the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said in a June 24 news release. "Children ages six months to younger than five get a smaller vaccine dose than any other age group."

This vaccine dose differs from the vaccine that was previously authorized for children ages 5 to 11, according to NCDHHS, which recommends all children, including those already infected, COVID-19 get vaccinated.

According to NCDHHS data posted at covid19.hcdhhs.gov, 181,651 people in Buncombe have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That's approximately 70% of the population.

As of June 22, A total 173,069 people or 66% of Buncombe's population have received two doses of a Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson variant.

Of these, only 43% have received boosters thus far.

Though the county's vaccination levels have stayed fairly steady for months, even as COVID rates have surged and retreated during the spring holidays.

As of June 18, there were 476 cases reported in seven days, down from more than 820 reported in a week near the end of April.

A total 595 people in Buncombe have died from the virus.

On June 1, wastewater data posted to the NCDHHS COVID data dashboard showed infections had skyrocketed in the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County, which serves 173,000 in Buncombe and Henderson County and consistently sends samples off to local labs.

Between May 28 and June 1, the MSD of Buncombe recorded a spike of roughly 25 million viral gene copies per person, ballooning from 15 million to 40 million in that short time period.

The MSD of Buncombe measured a 2022 low 0.98 million viral gene copies per person on March 20.

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At its record 2022 high, wastewater samples measured 98 million viral gene copies per person on Jan. 8.

But, by June 15, levels dropped back down to 17 million.

Wastewater data can be a helpful metric to measure COVID-19 spread, especially since not all at-home positive tests are reported to officials.

But it has to be taken in conjunction with other data.

"Wastewater surveillance data are most useful when used with other data," Saunders told the Citizen Times. "Wastewater data should be used along with other data including geographical context — for example, whether areas have high tourism or neighboring communities with increasing cases — other surveillance metrics. like COVID-like illness activity and clinical cases.

Saunders said the recent wastewater level spike did coincide with a major holiday where people may have traveled to the Asheville area for vacation, recreation and events.

"Increased wastewater activity is not uncommon in resort or vacation towns when visitors come into town and can be a helpful measure of COVID-19 even if visitors aren’t seeking testing or services while visiting."

During that period, Buncombe's community level, a CDC-established metric to measure how stressed local health care systems are by COVID's spread, rose from "low" to "medium."

However, following the fall in wastewater levels, Buncombe's community level is now back to low.

"People are encouraged to stay up to date on vaccines, seek testing if you are having symptoms or an exposure and if you are at higher risk for severe illness, consider wearing a mask in indoor public spaces," Saunders said.

Those recommendations may be especially significant during the upcoming 4th of July holiday.

Andrew Jones is Buncombe County government and health care reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at @arjonesreports on Facebook and Twitter, 828-226-6203 or arjones@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Buncombe COVID-19 vaccines for children arrive, cases levels falling