Coastal Health District looks back on one year of COVID

Mar. 6—On March 2, 2020, Gov. Brian Kemp announced the first two cases of COVID-19 had been diagnosed in Georgia, both Fulton County residents.

A little over two weeks later, on March 18, the Coastal Health District reported its first in Glynn County. The first in Camden and McIntosh counties surfaced on March 23 and March 30 of that year respectively.

Since then, 6,388 Glynn County residents have been diagnosed with the highly infectious respiratory disease, 146 of whom perished. Camden reported a total of 3,082 cases and 13 deaths, while 597 have been diagnosed in McIntosh, 28 of whom died.

So what have local officials learned in that time, and what should the general public expect going forward?

The News posed these questions to Dr. Lawton Davis, director of the Coastal Health District, which oversees health departments in Glynn, Camden, McIntosh, Liberty, Long Chatham, Effingham and Bryan counties.

"We understand a lot more about the virus today than we did a year ago," Davis said. "We have a much better handle on how it spreads, how it can be prevented, and how it affects people."

That doesn't mean the officials know all there is to know about the virus, the scientific name of which is SARS-CoV-2. It's not fully understood why COVID-19 impacts more people more severely than others.

Its long-term side effects are still being researched and the effectiveness of different immunization methods is still being evaluated, he said.

It's likely the subject will be on the minds of health professionals for years to come.

"We are still knee-deep in this pandemic," Davis said. "More people are getting vaccinated and we're moving in the right direction, but it's still going to be a while before we get anywhere near community or 'herd' immunity."

A big question is the length of time immunity lasts, he said. As such, the best course of action moving forward is to get vaccinated as soon as possible and to continue following precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control — wear a mask, keep a six-foot distance from anyone other than members of the same household, regular hand-washing and self-isolating if feeling sick.

While reiterating and following health department recommendations has become routine for many, Davis said the last year has been unique.

"Those of us working in public health right now have not experienced something of this magnitude in our lifetimes," he said. "A year ago, I wouldn't have believed we could have effective vaccines just one year later, and I'm thrilled that we do.

"The ingenuity of the science community, the cooperation of different government agencies and even different governments, and some amazing advances in technology have led to a vaccine rollout that is nothing short of remarkable."

The lessons learned in that cooperation and advancement might save lives in the future and was built on the back of years of preparation, he said.

"I think one of the things we did right was to establish relationships and partnerships with other agencies ahead of time," Davis said. "You get to know the players when you sit at the same table for emergency preparedness exercises year after year and that's a huge help when a true crisis occurs.

"Of course, there are always improvements to be made, and I'm sure once we're on the other side of this crisis, we'll reflect and incorporate what we've learned into our plans for future public health emergencies."

He also had positive things to say about citizens. Taking the public's response in perspective, he said coastal residents "exercised great personal responsibility to slow the spread of the virus."

"In the beginning, there was some skepticism about certain mitigation measures like face masks and physical distancing, but as time has passed, we've seen how these simple precautions can really help," Davis said.

More and more opportunities to get a shot will present themselves in time. Gov. Kemp announced just this week that Southeast Georgia will be getting two mass vaccination centers on March 17.

In the meantime, the Glynn County Health Department and the Southeast Georgia Health System, among others, continue to offer vaccines to those in Phase 1a — nursing home residents and employees, healthcare workers, residents age 65 and older and their caretakers and first responders.

Starting Monday, k-12 teachers and school staff, adults with developmental disabilities and parents of children with complex medical conditions will be added to the list.

To schedule a vaccination appointment at the SGHS Brunswick campus, visit sghs.org/covid-19.

Eligible residents in the coastal area can also schedule a vaccination appointment with their county health department at chdcovidvax.org or by calling 912-230-5506.