Precautions still necessary as vaccine rolls out in Lorain County, officials told

ELYRIA — County officials were told Tuesday to pass the word to the public not to give up on precautions yet as vaccines continue to be administered to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Lorain County. Lorain County had 800 new cases of COVID-19 identified last week, Health Commissioner Dave Covell told the Lorain County Community Protection Team on its weekly videoconference call Tuesday. That's a decrease from over the holidays, "but we're not going down fast enough as far as I'm concerned," he said, again urging residents to take precautions including wearing masks, staying at least 6 feet apart in public and washing their hands frequently for at least 20 seconds. "Don't blow it now," Covell said. "We need to keep vigilant a bit longer." More than 1,900 people ages 80 and older were vaccinated over the weekend, including about 1,000 who went to a walk-in vaccination clinic at the Lorain County Joint Vocational School in Oberlin and 500 each at drive-thru vaccination sites in Lorain and North Ridgeville. University Hospitals and Mercy Health System contributed vaccine supplies to those efforts, Covell said. Other 80-plus persons can get their vaccines at Discount Drug Mart, Giant Eagle pharmacies or their doctor's offices, he said. Another vaccination clinic with 500 doses available was scheduled Tuesday, Covell said. Emergency medical service personnel in the county all have received their second doses after their first round in December, he said. "We will never waste a dose here at Lorain County Public Health," Covell said. Hospitals Dr. Rebecca Starck, president of Cleveland Clinic Avon Hospital, told the team that her hospital is vaccinating patients and calling patients based on Gov. Mike DeWine's directives on the age-based rollout of the vaccine. Some people receiving their second doses of a two-dose course of the vaccine have reported side effects more significant than those they experienced with the first dose. About 17 percent had headaches, low-grade fevers and body aches lasting between 48 and 72 hours, she said. "That means the vaccine is working, that your body is responding to it," Starck said. "The second dose is eliciting greater (immune) response, because your immune system has been primed and is having a heightened reaction. You will have a better ability to fight the effects of that virus in your system." Mental health and recovery Last year proved a difficult one for those suffering from substance abuse disorders and addiction, Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board interim Executive Director Elaine Georgas told the team. Lorain County saw 122 fatal overdoses in 2020, the third-highest total in its history, and officials still are working on ways to combat opioid addiction. A "COVID Care" team is available, made up of a group of local outreach workers who can assist residents facing stress or other issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgas said. More details on the team can be found at the board's website, mharslc.org/covidcare. Lorain County Probate Judge James Walther said 2020 was a difficult year for mental health cases in Lorain County Common Pleas Court, with more than 132 defendants on the mental health docket. "There are more of them and they just seem way more" serious, he said. Homelessness also remains a major issue in Lorain County, with Georgas saying shelter capacity is down and that many people facing a housing crisis who would normally stay with family members can't stay with them due to pandemic precautions. "It's a big challenge with our homeless population to get them to a destination safely," said Charlotte Wray, president and COO of Mercy Health Lorain and Mercy Health Allen Hospital in Oberlin. Covell said his agency is working with agencies like LCADA to find ways to vaccinate the homeless and shut-in populations in Lorain County because "the vaccine doesn't travel well" and officials can't just take a single dose of it to a person's home. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him @daveobrienCT on Twitter.