Consider This! Simplifying the COVID-19 conversation – Public Health in the Face of the Pandemic

This week, hosts Heidi Beidinger-Burnett, Director, Eck Institute for Global Health and Mary Ann McDowell, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences were joined by guest Dr. Robert Einterz, St. Joseph County Department of Health Officer. The pandemic has put a stress on public health like never before, and Dr. Robert Einertz was brought in to discuss how it has been affected specifically in St. Joseph County, and how this operates in conjunction with the state of Indiana. 

First, Dr. Einterz discussed whether the vaccine could be trusted. He stated that the country has not taken a shortcut in ensuring the safety of the vaccine, and that he believes it will be safe. He also stated that there will be surveillance throughout the distribution of the vaccine that will ensure that adverse reactions will be recorded. He later stated that Pfizer and Moderna would be the types of vaccines available to the people of St. Joseph County. 

Dr. Einterz then discussed that health is very politicized. Both Beidinger and Dr. Einterz said they have received a number of disparaging comments from people of opposite political views who villainize public health officials. Beidinger explained that before Covid, no one was at all bothered by the board of health. Then, during the pandemic, many aggressive comments were made about these officials. Beidinger stated she wishes that people would just understand that they are simply trying to keep the community safe. 

Next, McDowell brought up some headlines to discuss. The first was the decision to have a mask ordinance in St. Joseph County. Dr. Einterz said that masks are one of the only tools that can be used to prevent the spread of the virus. He said that it met resistance initially because of two different arguments: the first was that masks did not work, and the second was that wearing masks infringes on people’s freedom. 

What does the Department of Health do? Dr. Eitnerz said that the main job is to promote the health and citizenry of the community. The three discussed that before the pandemic, public health was a job that was usually done behind the scenes. However, more recently, public health officials are often all over television, and it is at the forefront of people’s minds. 

Then, the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act was described. The CARES act provides stimulus and support for those struggling with Covid-related issues. For example, it covers testing, food, shelter and more. Much of that money went to public health so they could provide critical infrastructure to combat the issues faced due to Covid-19.

Finally, the event was open up for questions from the attendees. One notable question was, “What does the Covid test percent positive figure mean?” Dr. Einterz stated that the more people that are tested, the lower the rate of positivity will be. When students went away, the large denominator of people went away. Therefore, if the same amount of people were testing positive as before, then it looks as if the percentage of positivity is larger, which may be misleading; it is dependent on that denominator of the amount of people.

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