Antigen testing, vaccine start to help fight big hospital numbers in Kane County
The new use of rapid antigen testing for COVID-19 and deployment of Pfizer's vaccine are bolstering the outlook of Kane County public health professionals.
But they warned against the public letting down its guard as the number of patients in hospital beds is far beyond anything experienced in recent months.
The county received the BinaxNOW rapid antigen test shortly before Thanksgiving. It has administered 425 of those tests at six sites, mostly at homeless shelters, long-term care facilities and industrial businesses. So far, 20 have come back positive.
The county health department does have a tool kit for any businesses or organizations interested in using rapid antigen tests, but a Clinical Laboratory Implement Act waiver is needed, as well as a standing order from a medical provider.
"We can't just give them to anyone," said Kathy Fosser, interim executive director of the health department.
The newest weapon in the pandemic fight is deployment of Pfizer's vaccine. Health officials expect Moderna's version will receive emergency use authorization by this weekend, allowing it to also roll out in Kane County next week. There are no estimates yet on how many doses will be locally available.
For that reason, medical personnel and long-term care centers will be the focus for the initial doses. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses.
Staff members and residents at the county jail, because of the relatively tight living quarters, will also get access to the vaccine before the general public.
Once vaccine manufacturing increases, the health department said local pharmacies and primary care doctors should have access to the shots.
While the vaccine is free, the federal government is allowing providers to charge a fee to cover administration costs. Health officials said most health insurance plans should cover that cost.
It's unclear yet if any professions will require getting the vaccine as a condition of ongoing employment. Michael Isaacson, the county's assistant director for community health, said he has "not heard directly of a lot of strong movement to require it in the near term. Could that change over time? It certainly could."
That said, Isaacson encouraged as many people as possible to get the vaccine as soon as they can. He pointed to a "dramatic increase" positive COVID-19 tests since the summer.
The positivity rate in Kane County has stayed above 12% for two months, beyond the 8% goal set in the summer. Likewise, the availability of ICU and medical-surgical beds has bounced just above and below the target of at least 20% capacity for the last month.
"We have not seen the overwhelming spike, although we still have way too much COVID activity in the community," Isaacson said. "Our hospitals are quite busy. We are still seeing way too many people who are seriously ill, and the number of deaths in a week that we're seeing in Kane County is still 10 times what we were seeing in the summer."