Health official on need for COVID vaccinations

While the news on COVID-19 in Hill County is mostly good, Northern Montana Health Care Chief of Medical Staff Dr. Kevin Harada said residents must continue to fight the pandemic by getting vaccinated as soon as possible.

Cases and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have plummeted in the county and the surrounding area and the state is opening the vaccine to everyone 16 and older on Thursday, and while that is good news, Harada said, it is imperative that efforts to prevent further spread of the virus continue if the pandemic is to end quickly.

"It's important for us to, for lack of a better term, finish it off," he said.

Some local officials including in Hill and Blaine counties already have opened the clinics up to all ages, and Harada said most Montana counties have done so.

He said he knows a great many people who are healthy and not at a high risk of death from COVID-19 are wondering if they need the vaccine, a question that has a very clear answer in almost all cases.

If you're wondering if you should get vaccinated, as a population, the answer is yes, he said.

One of the big reasons he said it's vital that even low-risk people get vaccinated is to prevent outbreaks of the disease, which will only give it more of a chance to evolve and get worse.

He said every transmission of the virus is another chance for it to mutate and create yet another variant, possibly even a vaccine-resistant one, which can only make things worse.

"We still don't know what the variants mean for the United States," he said.

He said this is especially important given the busy travel season being predicted this year.

"With all the movement expected this summer, it makes it even more important to continue to roll out the vaccines to as many people as possible prior to travel season," he said.

While public health is reason enough to continue combating the disease, Harada said, self-preservation is also entirely reasonable as well, even if you are healthy.

"Low-risk does not mean no-risk," he said.

Addressing vaccine concerns

Vaccine skepticism is something Harada said he has encountered in his capacity as a doctor with most concerns revolving around the safety of the vaccine, safety which he said is very high.

He said the vaccines have gone through the same process that all western medicines do when being evaluated, and, despite the fast timetable of development and emergency use authorization by the Federal Food and Drug Administration, nothing is fundamentally different about how this vaccine was developed and tested when compared to others of its kind.

"These are exceedingly safe, and exceedingly efficacious." he said. "That's why they are so highly recommended."

Harada said millions of people have gotten the vaccines and it's still being monitored just like every medicine, and it is proving very safe, and the clinical trials for them were the same as any vaccine.

He said the technology for developing the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines has been around for more than 10 years, and the expedience with which they were approved was mostly a result of Operation Warp Speed which increased the speed of the financing.

Taking precautions to keep the spread low

While the vaccine is what is going to ultimately end the pandemic, people in Hill County should absolutely keep taking precautions like wearing masks, Harada said.

While he understands that masks are irritating, he said, it is a small imposition given the situation at hand, and relatively few are adversely affected by it beyond temporary annoyance.

"I don't think it's a big deal," he said. "I mean, I personally see some of the most-ill people in Hill County and none of them have any problem wearing a mask in the clinic."

Harada said, based on Hill County's situation, he sees no issue with businesses opening back up, but he questions the wisdom of rescinding the county's mask mandate.

"I'm all for businesses re-opening, because I think we are getting a handle on this," he said. "But I see no reason to rush to get rid of the mask mandate."

The Hill County Board of Health voted 3-1 in a meeting Feb. 18 to implement a mask order for the county that would be reconsidered when the county reached 10 or fewer new COVID-19 cases per day per 100,000 residents for two consecutive weeks or after 90 days.

However, the language of the order that was eventually signed by Hill County Board Chair and Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson almost a month after the vote simply says it is in effect until the metric is reached.

Peterson announced the end of the mandate last Monday.

Health Board Member Erica McKeon-Hanson said she doesn't know why the order Peterson signed is different from what was voted on.

Possible consequences of

not vaccinating

Harada said, despite vaccination proceeding smoothly, the possibility for a surge still exists and it's an idea that the medical community at large does not relish.

He said Hill County really got a handle on the pandemic over, and in the aftermath of, the holidays, but he's heard a sentiment in the media that he finds compelling regarding the possibility of another wave.

"'The hospitals have the capacity to handle a fourth surge but do they have the morale?,' he quoted. "It struck home because the medical community is tired. ... It is weighing on us."