August 12, 2021
To assist in sharing important information to our members, MAFP Public Awareness Director, Kristen Kern has created synopses of news conferences held this week. These are posted on our members-only Family Medicine Strong Facebook page and we encourage you to join to get up to date information. Click here to request admittance to the group.
MS State Department of Health
Press Conference Synopsis
Synopsis by MAFP staff of the Wednesday, August 11, 2:30 pm Mississippi State Department of Health press conference:

Dr. Thomas Dobbs, State Health Officer:
Kind of a hard time here at the Department of Health and its been exhausting. Every day I am watching two airliners collide, and I am constantly warning and constantly warning to change course, but we are not doing anything. It’s frustrating that these deaths are preventable. We’re seeing more and more deaths in younger age groups.

For every 100 cases, we have seen 7 or 8 end up in the hospital, so with every 1000 cases we will have 70 or 80 people hospitalized. Certain percentage of people are not going to make it home to their families.

The vast majority of new cases are unvaccinated, 97%. And 89% of cases hospitalized are unvaccinated. 16% of deaths were vaccinated and those people were mostly elderly and immunocompromised.

We still have a million Mississippians who need protection from Delta, from COVID. People are either going to get the vaccine or they are going to get COVID.

If you get COVID please talk to your physician about monoclonal antibody treatment which can reduce hospitalizations by 80 or 90 percent.

Dr. Paul Byers, State Epidemiologist:
Today’s numbers are 3,163 cases and 25 deaths, matching the largest previous surge. Of yesterday’s deaths, 26% were under the age of 50. We had several deaths in those people in their 20s. Sadly there were 2 deaths yesterday who were women who were pregnant. The risks of having COVID are far more than risks of having the vaccine. We have had deaths from COVID, but in Mississippi, we have had ZERO deaths from the vaccine.

There have been some questions about Neshoba County being the highest positivity rate in the state. The Neshoba County Fair happened recently and it is likely a good bit of the cases can be related back to the Fair. But this situation is not limited to one county, not limited to one location. Every county in the state has a high incidence of cases.

Jim Craig, MS State Department of Health:
The situation with hospitals is much worse this week than it was last week. We transfer patients between hospitals using Mississippi MedCom to better accommodate them and to date 563 patients have been transferred. We are seeing shortages in medical staff as well as ICU beds. We have requested federal resources including 5 ICU beds at Biloxi VA, 5 ICU beds at Jackson VA. Mississippi Med 1 has been deployed to UMMC and a federal clinical staff will be brought in to staff it. Those U.S. Health & Human Services doctors will be here and ready to begin serving patients Friday.
University of Mississippi Medical Center Press Conference Synopsis
Synopsis by MAFP staff of the Wednesday, August 11, 1:30 pm UMMC press conference:

There are no intensive care unit beds left in the state due to the COVID surge. US Health and Human Services employees are on their way to Mississippi to help our doctors. Program is similar to the National Guard in that these people have day jobs and get ‘called up’ in times of national disaster.

By Friday physicians will start seeing patients in the Mobile Field Hospital in the UMMC parking garage. This will be a state resource. Not just a UMMC clinic, will be part of the state’s system of care.

Dr. Lou Ann Woodward, UMMC Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs:
The number one thing to do is to get the vaccine -- until we get to the point where we’re not in a surge, wear a mask.

Woodward says what they are seeing in Delta patients compared to Alpha in 2020, is they are younger and have fewer comorbid conditions, and they are healthy.

Dr. Woodward says of patients in UMMC’s ICU, 90% are unvaccinated. Their ICU has 24 adults and 6 kids with COVID. Pediatric hospital is full - there are 21 in hospital with COVID, 6 in ICU and 4 on ventilators.

Dr. Alan Jones, UMMC Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical Affairs:
If we keep going on the trajectory we are on, within 5-10 days we could see a collapse of the state's hospital system.
Governor Reeves Asks for Calm
During COVID Crisis
Governor Tate Reeves' Social Media Post from August 11 at 1:30 pm:

"Friends – (hint: this is one of the long ones) – I want you to know what our team is doing on behalf of our fellow Mississippians.

#1 – we are not panicking. As we do with every emergency (tornado, hurricane, flooding, ice storm, and this pandemic), we are calmly making decisions based on the best available data to manage the situation and mitigate its impact on our people.

My number one goal from day one of this pandemic has always been to protect the integrity of our health care system. The current phase of the pandemic seems more and more like a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” – as the Delta variant has had very few breakthrough cases amongst those who have “gotten the shot” – but the goal remains the same: ensure everyone that can get better with quality care receives that quality care!

Total hospitalizations remain below where they were at our peak from August of 2020. Total number of patients in ICU beds remains at or near our peak levels from August of 2020.

Honestly, the real challenge is NOT the physical beds – hospital beds or ICU beds. The challenge is our hospitals may not have an adequate number of health care professionals (docs, nurses, respiratory therapists, etc.) to staff those beds. Unfortunately, I’ve been advised hospitals throughout Mississippi have lost nearly 2,000 nurses over the last year. There is a labor shortage in most industries throughout America today and health care is no different. Some hospitals lost staff because they laid off employees that never came back. Some staff left due to administrative decisions (such as mandating vaccines). But the reason for the shortage can be debated in the future…..the task at hand is to help backfill these vacancies to protect the integrity of our healthcare system.

To that end, here is what we are doing and what we are focused on in the near term:

1. MSDH delayed through regulation any elective surgeries from August 1-August 15.

2. MSDH implemented the System of Care plan the team developed to transport patients to ensure all beds in the state were in use handling the patients they could handle.

3. Yesterday, we added ICU capacity and beds in our System of Care at both the VA facility in Jackson and the VA facility on the Coast.

4. We are re-opening the 50-bed MED-1 facility in the parking garage at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. This facility should be operational and functional no later than Friday of this week.

5. It has been determined by the MSDH that 920 additional health care professionals are needed in the intermediate term in Mississippi.

6. MEMA has made an EMAC request to other states - as is required by FEMA - for the additional personnel. If this request cannot be filled by other states, the request will be forwarded to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for federal assistance.

7. MEMA has also begun the process of contracting with private entities for additional personnel to be added to existing personnel at hospitals throughout Mississippi as well as at any new facilities that we may have to open.

8. MSDH and MEMA have requested an additional 10 teams to open new sites - in addition to the 41 sites that we already have in the state - to administer monoclonal anti-bodies treatment - a treatment that has proven to significantly reduce hospitalizations for patients with COVID.

9. Over 60,000 vaccinations were administered last week alone, and access to the vaccine remains available to every eligible person in the state.

10. The team is considering opening an additional 50 bed facility - possibly Med-2 and possibly a private entity - in the Jackson market. In addition, we are also in contract discussions with a potential 50 bed facility in the Hattiesburg market.

11. We are discussing our options on the State of Emergency and will make a final decision within the next 48 hours on whether or not it needs to be extended.

As you can see, in spite of the angry rhetoric coming from so many, our emergency management team is doing what it does - we are calmly dealing with an ever-changing environment to meet the needs of Mississippi. I remain incredibly proud of all the work being done by the Mississippi National Guard, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, the Mississippi Dept. of Health, and our many partners.

Please….Pray for your fellow Mississippians.

Be smart. Remain calm. Ignore all the irrational folks.

Do what’s best for you and your family."


Kids and COVID Update Tuesday at Lunch
The pediatricians group has invited MAFP members to participate in their Kids and COVID update webinar scheduled for Tuesday, August 17 at 12 noon. Click here or on the art below to participate: https://bit.ly/3iBgqOR
Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians
755 Avignon Drive, Ridgeland MS 39157
(601) 853-3302
https://www.msafp.org