As you are all aware, the Omicron surge is in full swing across the North Penn area. As of Jan. 6, the county positivity rate was 29.6%. In our immediate area, the average comes down closer to 20%. While this is all concerning and people are, rightfully, worried about the spread of the virus across our area, I find myself more frustrated than ever about the lack of detailed data at the local level to help manage this latest surge.
As is usual, I review COVID-19 data on a weekly basis (organized by Montgomery Co.) to remain up to date on how our community is fairing through the pandemic. However, over the last few weeks data, on the local level, has stopped being updated for our review in a timely manner. The last substantive update at the municipal level was listed as “week ending Dec. 30.” Logically, timely data during a health crisis is critical to helping understand what the correct actions or reactions might be for each community as we try to help our residents work through this most recent surge.
Additionally, several months ago, local testing sites across the area were closed without any explanation and — despite the surge in transmission — have remained closed to this day.
Obviously, the best action anyone can take right now is to get vaccinated and/or get boosted as soon as possible. We do not need local data to know that this remains the best course of action for anyone in our area. However, Omicron has been particularly adept at breaking through vaccine barriers making it even more problematic and even more likely to spread. Thankfully, if you are vaccinated, your chance of being hospitalized is much lower. However, not everyone is vaccinated or can get vaccinated yet, and without timely local data, it is difficult to help our residents and our businesses react to this surge.
Particularly concerning is the reality that kids under the age of 5 have little protection from this virus and parents of these children have been given little guidance on how to help protect their kids beyond “continue to wear a mask at daycare and when in public.”
After 22 months of working through this pandemic, it was my hope that we would be prepared for a surge like Omicron and our reaction to it would be well orchestrated and backed by data that can be quickly collected and reviewed. For reasons that confound me, that is still not the case. At this point, once again, I ask that everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated please do so. Due to the transmissibility of Omicron, it seems particularly prudent for everyone to wear a mask in public to help manage the spread until the surge has abated and we can more freely interact with one another again.
I recognize that this surge is a frustration for everyone. No one wants to continue to fight with the realities of this pandemic. However, if the past is prologue, than we know this will occur again and we need to start building pre-emptive systems that allow us to scale up testing and data collection quickly to help manage each surge until this pandemic is, finally, behind us.
I know better days are still ahead and Lansdale will continue to thrive despite what COVID has brought to bear on our community. As we begin to celebrate our 150th anniversary, Lansdale will re-emerge stronger than it ever has before. 2022 will be a year of celebration for our community and, hopefully, set a new tone as we move quickly into post-pandemic world.
(Mayoral Musings is a weekly op-ed column submitted to North Penn Now, courtesy of Lansdale Borough Mayor Garry Herbert.)
See also:
Mayoral Musings: Goals for Second Term
Mayoral Musings: Stay Safe This Christmas Week
Mayoral Musings: Traffic Flow Near Susquehanna
