Sept. 2, 2022 (Astoria, OR) — Clatsop County Department of Public Health recently took steps recognizing the medical consensus that the COVID-19 virus will remain and stay with humans. The department remains ready to change course and respond accordingly by working with community partners.
Looking Back
More than two and a half years ago the public was introduced to COVID-19 and an emerging global pandemic.
- Public Health’s first approach to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was using traditional public health tools such as isolation, quarantine, face masking and social distancing.
- A national effort was launched to create vaccines that would protect the public from the virus. These vaccines have played critical roles in protecting the public and preventing severe illness and death.
- Earlier this year, medicine therapeutics became available to treat individuals in early infection stages. This medicine has helped reduce the severity of the disease and hospitalizations.
Clatsop County’s robust response to the pandemic brought together healthcare providers, businesses, non-profit organizations, faith-based institutes, schools, residents and hundreds of volunteers.
Together the Clatsop community worked to successfully lessen the disease's impacts to our communities and save lives. A critical part of those efforts was frequent communication between Public Health, other county departments, partners, and the public about COVID-19.
Timely communication and data sharing facilitated outbreak control and promoted prevention measures, including vaccination. Most recently, collective community efforts reduced Clatsop's "Community Level" from high to low.
Last month, the CDC updated its COVID-19 guidance. It calls for:
- Vaccines and medications to reduce severe COVID-19 cases and deaths and to focus prevention and protection strategies on individuals most at risk for severe illness from the virus.
- Monitoring COVID-19 community levels to guide prevention efforts, continuing existing interventions, and testing for current infection.
What This Guidance Means for Clatsop County
With the changed strategies and upcoming new COVID-19 booster vaccinations, the Clatsop County Department of Public Health decided to discontinue the current COVID-19 dashboard. In its place links are being provided to Oregon and CDC relevant links, such as the “COVID Community Levels” and weekly county metrics by the state government.
COVID testing is still available by appointment by calling 503-325-1000.
“We remain committed to the health and well-being of all Clatsop County residents,” said Jiancheng Huang, public health director. “We continue monitoring community COVID-19. We will continue to collaborate with healthcare providers and volunteers throughout our county to promote the bivalent booster. I encourage all eligible to get the new booster vaccines.”
For more information, call 503-325-8500.