House health chair credits vaccine with preventing worse symptoms when infected by COVID-19
House Health Chair Bryan Terry (R-Murfreesboro) is crediting his COVID-19 vaccination with potentially preventing him from hospitalization or even death when he came down with the coronavirus.
“I feel fortunate to have not contracted COVID before a vaccine was available,” Terry said in a release. “I have since contracted, and recovered from, COVID through what is called a ‘breakthrough infection’. With my health history, it could have been much worse. I’m convinced the vaccine protected my health and possibly saved me from an extensive hospitalization, or death. All Tennesseans, especially those with risk, need to talk to their doctor about getting vaccinated”.
Terry, who is a physician, said he had muscle and joint pains, fatigue, and other cold-like symptoms, “but I never developed the severe respiratory problems associated with COVID that I’m at risk for. I credit the vaccine for helping prevent major problems. I’m still not 100%, but I’m getting there.”
“I’ve never been under the illusion that I would never get infected even after vaccination. It’s just been my hope that, when I did get infected, I wouldn’t have a major reaction,” Terry said. “I’ve had medical and legislative colleagues that have had severe and deadly reactions. I’ve seen patients on ventilators and have bad outcomes. I don’t wish that on anyone. I know many folks don’t trust government, the media, or politicians, but most trust their doctor. It’s a conversation folks need to have.”
Sen. Kerry Roberts hoping to be released from hospital next week
An update from the Senate Republican Caucus on the health status of state Sen. Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield), who suffered an aneurysm earlier this month:
Many of you have asked for an update regarding Senator Roberts related to the subarachnoid hemorrhage he experienced on Friday, October 9th. Senator Roberts remains in the Neuro Intensive Care Unit and continues to experience vasospasms, placing him at risk for a stroke and requiring him to be under careful monitoring. Wednesday marked the first day of significant decline in vasospasms. With further improvement, he is expected to be released as early as next week. His medical team continues to anticipate a full and complete recovery and his recovery timeline remains within expectations for a brain hemorrhage.
Sen. Roberts said, “I am very thankful for all of the prayers, calls, cards, and texts from those who have expressed their concerns. Due to the severity of headaches, I have not been able to take phone calls, text messages, and emails, except to communicate with family members who are not able to visit because of COVID-19 protocols. I have been touched by so many kind messages and look forward to responding soon.”
Tennessee updates COVID-19 reporting details
Gov. Bill Lee’s adminstration is updating the way it discloses COVID-19 information. Here’s the full release::
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Health is improving the format for sharing of data on COVID-19 to update how some metrics are calculated and reflect evolving knowledge of the pandemic. The new format will begin September 3, 2020 and reflect a change in how active cases are calculated and a correction in county of residence for some cases. In addition, TDH is adding new resources including data snapshots for each county and a Critical Indicators Report. TDH data on COVID-19 will be posted at 3 p.m. CDT Sept. 3 at www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html as the new format is implemented.
“We’re pleased to be adding new reports to help support rapid public health actions in Tennessee communities,” said Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey, MD, MBA, FAAP. “We also want to promote data transparency and help Tennesseans understand the reason case counts for some counties will change as we correct information based on their addresses.”
Reporting Inactive/Recovered Cases
Starting Sept. 3, TDH case count reports will include figures for “Inactive/Recovered” cases and will no longer include data for “Recovered” cases. “Inactive/Recovered” cases will include people who are 14 days or more beyond their illness onset date (or, for asymptomatic cases, their specimen collection date). This will more closely align with what is now understood about the infectious period of COVID-19, as recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show most patients with COVID-19 are no longer infectious after 10 days.
Previously, TDH considered a case recovered after a 21-day period.
Correcting County Locations
TDH is also correcting discrepancies in county location for about 1,700 cases, as the county to which they were originally assigned does not correspond correctly to their street addresses. This can occur in laboratory reports because some lab systems automatically assign county location based on the patient’s ZIP code, which may be incorrect if the ZIP code straddles county lines. These cases will be corrected all at once, which will result in case count changes for some counties. A solution is in place to automate this process in the future.
New Reports and Data Points
Starting Sept. 3, individual County Data Snapshots will provide information on case counts, hospitalizations, testing and more for each county at www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov/data/county-data-snapshot.html. In addition, the new weekly Critical Indicators Report includes information to help stakeholders monitor trends in cases, symptoms, testing capabilities and health care system capacity. Find the Critical Indicators Report online at www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/health/documents/cedep/novel- coronavirus/CriticalIndicatorReport.pdf. TDH is also adding data on current hospitalizations to daily information posted at www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html.
Tennessee’s county health departments continue to offer COVID-19 testing at no charge to anyone who wishes to be tested. Find a map of health department locations and contact information online at www.tn.gov/content/tn/health/cedep/ncov/remote-assessment- sites.html. County health department testing sites will be closed Sept. 7 for Labor Day.
TDH is posting updated COVID-19 case numbers by 2 p.m. CDT each day at www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html. Find additional information at www.tn.gov/governor/covid-19.html and www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
Bill to ‘trigger’ abortion ban revived in House
A bill to “trigger” a ban on abortions in Tennessee in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its Roe v. Wade decision has been revived in the House.
A subcommittee had earlier voted down the bill sponsored by Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet) amid an inter-chamber squabble over which anti-abortion legislation to pursue. The House preferred a bill to ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, while the Senate wanted to go with the triggering legislation supported by Tennessee Right to Life.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday advanced the triggering legislation while sending the heartbeat bill to a summer study committee. The House Health Committee on Wednesday voted to overturn the subcommittee vote on the trigger bill and pull it directly to the full committee. The motion was made by Rep. Ron Gant (R-Rossville), the assistant House majority leader.
The House committee vote was 12-4, one more than the minimum necessary to recall a bill to full committee.
