WP Perspectives – December 19, 2022

Before and after you celebrate Christmas and New Years with friends and family, unwrap a little time to test for COVID-19. Free test kits will be given, first come-first served, on December 21 and 28 at:

• Franklin County & Henry-Martinsville Health Departments - 2-5 p.m.
• Patrick County Health Department - 1-4:30 p.m.

Two kits per person, or four kits per family. Persons picking up kits must be symptom-free. People who have no insurance, or who are under-insured are encouraged to pick up test kits.

Please note: this is NOT a drive-through event.

Free COVID-Tests Offered Again

The White House has relaunched its COVID-19 home testing program as part of preparations for a wintertime surge of cases. Households can obtain four free at-home tests, which will be mailed for free starting the week of Dec. 19.

Place Your Order for Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests: Residential households in the U.S. can order one set of 4 free at-home tests from USPS.com. To order go to COVID.gov/tests.

Before You Throw Out "Expired" Tests: Check to see if your COVID-19 tests' expiration dates have been extended.

Detect Brand Kit Recall

Please note that several production lots of COVID-19 tests are being recalled because there is an increased chance they may give false negative results. (These are not part of the distribution mentioned above.)  The FDA said the recall involves around 11,102 Detect COVID-19 Tests. The tests were shipped to customers from Jul 26, 2022, through Aug. 26, 2022. Detect Inc. says that while they have not received any reports of false positives, it is recalling the tests out of an abundance of caution.  The lot numbers being recalled at HB264, HY263, and HY264 and can be found on the side of the box as shown below. The expiration date for all these kits is 1/1/23.

Anyone with the recalled COVID-19 tests should throw them away and contact Detect Inc. for a full refund. The company said if a person tries to use the recalled tests in the company’s app, they will be alerted about the recall.  Anyone with questions can contact Detect Inc. at (855) 322 3692 or email the company at support@detect.com.

Inequities in the cost of pharmaceuticals.

The United States has the highest drug prices in the world and it’s not even close (to other countries' drug costs). For millions in the country, the cost of prescription drugs is an ever-growing barrier to proper disease treatment. This is most often the case for minority groups, who have long experienced disproportionally adverse health access and outcomes. But high drug prices alone do not explain the inequity we see. Though cost is a major factor, Colon, et al. found that disparities are not simply a function of socioeconomic status—the story is more complicated.

Minorities face many barriers to prescription medicines such as cost, lack of insurance and implicit racial bias in the prescribing practices. Though the Affordable Care Act (ACA) reduced the number of uninsured Americans, over 28 million remain without insurance. More than half (55%) of uninsured Americans under the age of 65 are people of color. For those with no insurance, paying retail prices for medications is often financially impossible. There are policy options for addressing racial disparities in access to prescription medication. Read more at Racial Disparities, Prescription Medications, and Promoting Equity - Public Health Post

Pamela Chitwood, Population Health Community Coordinator; Pamela.chitwood@vdh.virginia.gov 540-484-0292 ext. 223

“If you live in Martinsville/Henry County, we want to hear from you!” The West Piedmont Health District (WPHD) and its partners are looking for vital feedback from residents.

Through a brief online survey, area residents will be asked to share their input on quality-of-life issues. The public's comments will serve to guide important decisions made within three years. It is important to know where residents feel available funding should be invested, as well as the issues needing the most focus. The survey can be accessed via social media at WPHD Facebook, on the West Piedmont Health District website, and through this link: Community Equity Survey.

"We want to give everyone the opportunity to have a voice by sharing their opinions about the priorities needing the most attention over the next few years," said Project Leader Pamela Chitwood, Population Health Community Coordinator for the West Piedmont Health District. The survey will be available in English and Spanish. For census purposes, respondents will be asked to provide a street address. This will not be used for any type of identification as this information will remain confidential.

"We are striving to get an overwhelming response to this survey as it will serve as a guide to indicate what is most important to our residents," Chitwood said. "We are hoping the community will help us spread the word about this opportunity," she added.

Once all survey results are collected and analyzed, the results are expected to be shared during the spring of 2023. For information about the Henry County Equity Collaborative or the survey, please contact: Pamela Chitwood at pamela.chitwood@vdh.virginia.gov or (540) 484-0292 Ext. 223.

Opioids, Guns, the flu -- even loneliness are threats to community health.

• In rural America, the deadly costs of opioids outweigh the dollars tagged to address them

Rural communities across America were harbingers of the opioid crisis. In the 1990s, misleading marketing by opioid companies helped drive up prescription rates, particularly in coal, lumber, and manufacturing towns across Appalachia and Maine. As painkillers flooded communities, some residents became addicted. Over time, they started using heroin and fentanyl, and the deadly epidemic spilled into suburbs and cities across the nation. Read more about this national, regional and local threat in Kaiser Health News.

• Guns are the biggest kid-killer in this country.

Guns are now the No. 1 cause of deaths among American children and teens, ahead of car crashes, other injuries and congenital disease. In other rich countries, gun deaths are not even among the top four causes of death, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation report found. The U.S. accounts for 97 percent of gun-related child deaths among similarly large and wealthy countries, despite making up just 46 percent of this group’s overall population. … If the U.S. had gun death rates similar to Canada’s, about 26,000 fewer children would have died since 2010, according to Kaiser. But the trend has been going in the opposite direction: Gun deaths among teens and younger kids have gone up in the U.S., while they have declined elsewhere. . . The U.S. has more guns than people. New York Times 12/15/22

• Flu season may be worst in a decade.

“As the country heads into its third pandemic winter, covid-19 cases are on the rise, and the 2022-23 flu season is shaping up to be the worst in a decade — there have already been 4,500 deaths from flu, including 14 children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”  That’s why experts are renewing their advice to wear a high-quality medical mask on public transportation, in airports and on planes, while shopping and in other crowded public spaces.  Washington Post 12/9/22

• Loneliness can kill you.

The holiday season can be a time for community and family gatherings. But for some, it can be a season of more complicated feelings, including increased loneliness and isolation….A 2021 study from Morning Consult found that 58 percent of Americans are lonely. Some are lonely by circumstance and others by choice, but Dr. Jeremy Nobel (Harvard University) says societal expectations play a role in loneliness during the holiday season.

“It’s not just the isolation — it’s the expectation that’s created by culture, by advertising that the only normal way to be in the holidays, the only way to access joy and celebration is to be with others,”

Loneliness and isolation are often associated with their effects on mental and emotional health. But Nobel says it’s also important to understand the impact on physical health that can come from experiencing those feelings.

“What’s only recently come to light is that loneliness won’t just make you miserable, it’ll kill you. And not just from suicide or drug overdose, but from heart disease, cancer or other kinds of physical ailments,” Nobel said. “It turns out that loneliness increases risk of early death by 30 percent — as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.” Read more about the dangers of loneliness.