Coronavirus Disease 2019 Information

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Information - January 2022 Update

Omnicron Protection MCHD2

The Omicron variant spreads more easily than the original virus that causes COVID-19. Here are 3 things you can do to help protect yourself and others:

  1. Get the COVID-19 vaccine, if you haven’t already.Vaccines are the best tool to protect us from COVID-19. They slow the transmission of the virus, and provide strong protection against severe illness and hospitalization.
  2. Get the booster when you’re fully eligible. Everyone 18 years and older should get a booster shot 2 months after their Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or 5 months after completing their primary COVID-19 vaccination series of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. Adolescents and teens ages 12 to 17 should also get a booster of Pfizer-BioNTech 5 months after their primary series.
  3. Continue wearing a mask in indoor public places in areas of high or substantial community transmission. Use the COVID-19 County Check Tool to find your county’s level of community transmission.

Remember: Medicare covers the COVID-19 vaccine and booster shot at no cost to you. Visit Vaccines.gov to find COVID-19 vaccines and boosters near you.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Information - August 2021 Update

A MESSAGE FROM MCHD CEO ALMA MARTINEZ
August 6, 2021

Our community has been facing a new wave of COVID-19. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to produce uncertainty, stress and trauma in our community, MCHD continues to offer a multitude of ways of staying safe during this second wave:

COVID-19 Vaccinations
MCHD has both Moderna (2 dose) and Jensen (1 dose) vaccines available with no appointment necessary.

COVID-19 Testing
MCHD offers 2 kinds of COVID-19 tests – PCR (24-48 hour results) & Molecular (15 minutes results).

MCHD recommends that everyone continue to follow CDC guidelines such as getting vaccinated, wearing a mask, social distancing, avoiding crowded areas or poorly ventilated areas. Frequent hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, cleaning and disinfecting high touch areas and monitoring your health daily will play a vital role in keeping you and your family safe.

MCHD urges you to seek medical care with your provider. If you have a fever, cough, or difficulty breathing, it is important to seek care as early as possible.

To set up an appointment with any of our providers, please call 830-757-4900. Call beforehand if you have any COVID-19 related symptoms and follow medical advice.

How To Protect Yourself & Others

Some people in your family need to continue to take steps to protect themselves from COVID-19, including

  • Anyone not fully vaccinated, including children under 12 who cannot be vaccinated yet
  • People with weakened immune systems or underlying medical conditions

Get Vaccinated

  • Authorized COVID-19 vaccines can help protect you from COVID-19.
  • You should get a COVID-19 vaccine when it is available to you.
  • Once you are fully vaccinated, you may be able to start doing some things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.

Wear A Mask

  • If you are not fully vaccinated and aged 2 or older, you should wear a mask in indoor public places.
  • In general, you do not need to wear a mask in outdoor settings.
    • In areas with high numbers of COVID-19 cases, consider wearing a mask in crowded outdoor settings and for activities with close contact with others who are not fully vaccinated.
  • People who have a condition or are taking medications that weaken their immune system may NOT be protected even if they are fully vaccinated. They should continue to take all precautions recommended for unvaccinated people, including wearing a well-fitted mask, until advised otherwise by their healthcare provider.
  • If you are fully vaccinated, see When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated.

Wearing a mask over your nose and mouth is required on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States and while indoors at U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations. Travelers are not required to wear a mask in outdoor areas of a conveyance (like on open deck areas of a ferry or the uncovered top deck of a bus).

Stay 6 Feet Away From Others

  • Inside your home: Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
    • If possible, maintain 6 feet between the person who is sick and other household members.
  • Outside your home: Put 6 feet of distance between yourself and people who don’t live in your household.

Avoid Crowds and Poorly Ventilated Spaces

  • Being in crowds like in restaurants, bars, fitness centers, or movie theaters puts you at higher risk for COVID-19.
  • Avoid indoor spaces that do not offer fresh air from the outdoors as much as possible.
  • If indoors, bring in fresh air by opening windows and doors, if possible.

Wash Your Hands Often

  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
  • It’s especially important to wash:
    • Before eating or preparing food
    • Before touching your face
    • After using the restroom
    • After leaving a public place
    • After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
    • After handling your mask
    • After changing a diaper
    • After caring for someone sick
    • After touching animals or pets
  • If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

Cover Coughs and Sneezes

  • If you are wearing a mask: You can cough or sneeze into your mask. Put on a new, clean mask as soon as possible and wash your hands.
  • If you are not wearing a mask:
    • Always cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, or use the inside of your elbow and do not spit.
    • Throw used tissues in the trash.
  • Immediately wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, clean your hands with a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

Clean and Disinfect

  • Clean high touch surfaces daily. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks.
  • If someone is sick or has tested positive for COVID-19, disinfect frequently touched surfaces. Use a household disinfectant product from EPA’s List N: Disinfectants for Coronavirus (COVID-19) external icon according to manufacturer’s labeled directions.
    • If surfaces are dirty, clean them using detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.

Monitor Your Health Daily

  • Be alert for symptoms. Watch for fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19.
  • Take your temperature if symptoms develop.
    • Don’t take your temperature within 30 minutes of exercising or after taking medications that could lower your temperature, like acetaminophen.
  • Follow CDC guidance if symptoms develop.

Symptoms

Reported illnesses have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death for confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

These symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure (based on the incubation period of MERS-CoV viruses).

  • Fever
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath

When To Seek Medical Attention

If you develop any of these emergency warning signs* for COVID-19 get medical attention immediately:

  • Trouble breathing
  • Persistent pain or pressure in chest
  • New confusion or inability to arouse
  • Bluish lips or face

*This list is not all inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning to you.

Call 911 if you have a medical emergency: Notify the operator that you have, or think you might have, COVID-19. If possible, put on a cloth face covering before medical help arrives.

Use of Cloth Face Coverings to Help Slow the Spread of COVID-19

Cloth face coverings should:

  • fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
  • be secured with ties or ear loops
  • include multiple layers of fabric
  • allow for breathing without resstriction
  • be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape

CDC on Homemade Cloth Face Coverings

CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.

CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.

Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.

The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.

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