Wood: ‘we are making very little progress’

LAURINBURG — Greg Wood, president and CEO of Scotland Health Care System, a Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shelly Lowery visited with the Rotary Club on Tuesday by Zoom to update the members on the current surge of COVID-19 cases.

“First, I want to thank the club for going virtual,” Wood said. “It’s extremely important we do that.”

Wood went on to say that the current surge in positive tests began shortly before Christmas and, by most estimates, will probably peak in late January.

“So we are hoping, should that hold true, that we will see a decline in the numbers sometime in March,” he said. “But right now, as a county, we are making very little progress because most of those cars you see in the lines are there to be tested. Not many are getting vaccinated.”

Wood went on to say that the Omicron variant is “extraordinarily transmissive.”

According to the latest numbers from SHCS, there have been 70 admissi9ons for COVID-19 since Christmas, with two or three deaths per week.

“The sicknesses have been a little less intense, but it’s still very serious,” Wood said. “We’ve also had 100 employees test positive at the hospital.

“We need to keep telling people to get the shot and then follow up with the booster,” he added. “We are seeing that the booster is making a big difference.”

However, Wood said getting the vaccines and the booster doesn’t mean the virus won’t find you.

“Yes, you can still get it, but the odds are extremely in your favor with both the vaccine and the booster,” he said.

Dr. Lowery told the Rotarians that 87 residents were on Tuesday morning and 25 were positive, which is a slight uptick from last week.

“So we expect that trend to continue based on the modules,” she said. “And the things that make this variant unique are the facts that patients are sicker because they have delayed care for other things, and the treatment is limited with this surge because the hospital has switched to new meds for Omicron — and there is a shortage.

“We are also challenged in keeping a full staff on a daily basis,” Lowery added. “That’s been very difficult.”

During a question-and-answer session, Wood and Lowery were asked about the availability of the rapid home-testing kits, and the answer was that there are very few — if any — to be found. It was stated by County Manager Kevin Patterson that the Scotland County Health Department had requested those testing kits from the state, but none had arrived yet.

The Rotary Club plans to meet virtually at least through the month of January.

W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-506-3023 or [email protected].