By L. Parsons Navajo County Public Health Director Janelle Linn addressed the Navajo County Board of Supervisors last week, informing the board that the county is currently experiencing a low volume of daily COVID-19 cases. In Navajo County, the number of reported COVID-19 cases have been reducing. Linn said, “Our numbers continue to remain very low. We had a total of eight cases in the last 24 hours and only two in the previous 24 hours.” Vaccine distribution has been going well in the county. According to Linn, “We are continuing to receive around 2,500 doses of vaccine per week. Our vaccine coverage rates are impressive. The national coverage rate is 9.2% whereas, in Navajo County, we have had 23,958 individuals be vaccinated (as of March 9). This is a 14.3% vaccine coverage rate. We have had almost zero vaccine waste in this county. We are above 100% for dosage utilized.” Last week, President Biden guaranteed the vaccine eligibility would be open to all adults by the end of May. “Right now,” Linn explained, “the age 55 and older population is eligible for vaccine as well as tiers 1 A and B.” The latest vaccine to be approved for emergency use is manufactured by Johnson & Johnson. Named the “Jenssen Vaccine” for the developers, it is a one dose inoculation that can be stored in a standard refrigerator. “You don’t need to come back and get a second shot. There is some confusion on efficacy rates with this new product. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have a 90% to 94% overall efficacy rate and the Jenssen vaccine has a 64% to 74% efficacy rate. What we really want to stress, is that comparing those products neck to neck can be confusing and is really not a fair assessment. The trials were done differently with different study groups and done in different parts of the world where there may be different strains. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) is making no recommendation over the other. “Their recommendation is if you have access to a dose, you should take it. The Johnson & Johnson product is very effective against hospitalization and death. It is 93% effective against hospitalization which means even if you contract COVID, your symptoms will not land you in the hospital. It has been completely effective against mortality, or death.” Guidance released by the CDC last week explained that fully vaccinated individuals, those who have completed the two-dose series or received one Jenssen Vaccine, are able to interact with others who have also completed the vaccine. Linn said, “This lets us know that fully vaccinated people can be a little less cautious when gathering indoors as far as wearing a mask. If a large portion of the room is fully vaccinated, you would still need to social distance, however, you wouldn’t necessarily need to wear your mask. In public, however, please continue to wear a mask and practice distancing and hand washing. The guidelines also say that individuals can refrain from quarantine and testing as long as they remain symptom free.” Linn also mentioned the latest executive order from Arizona Governor Doug Ducey. She said, “This executive order lifted occupancy limits for some facilities such as gyms, theaters and restaurants. However, the mitigation strategies that were given to us in August are still in place. Those include distancing and mask wearing. For many of our restaurants, this isn’t really going to change things because in order to maintain that six-foot distance, they won’t really be able to go to their full occupancy. This order does not mean everything was lifted and you can return to everyday business. For events larger than 50 people, you will still need to check with your local government.” In other business, the board: * Approved a contract with Woodsen Engineering and Surveying in an amount not to exceed $19,850 for a drainage analysis in the Summer Pines subdivision of Show Low. * Approved a contract with Entellus in an amount not to exceed $16,164 for hydraulic and hydraulic model generation in the Summer Pines subdivision of Show Low. * Approved the extension of a contract with The Mahoney Group for employee benefits consultation through March 31, 2022. * Accepted a grants award of $19,177 to the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety through their Proposition 207 funding. The award includes four radars totaling $8,627, 10 preliminary breath tests totaling $5,550 and one speed trailer totaling $5,000. * Approved revisions to the Navajo County Personnel Policy Manual. There are two revisions. First, an addition of a 30-day waiting period for employee health insurance start dates. The county currently operates with a 30-day waiting period. The revision updates the policy manager to reflect this. Secondly, a Sheriff’s Office Step Progression in regards to salary was added. * Approved a revision to the Navajo County bereavement policy. The current bereavement policy allows for use of an employee’s sick leave to cover bereavement leave. The revision allows for paid bereavement leave up to three days, or five days for out of state travel, per calendar year. The revision does not require employees to use their own sick or annual leave, but is a benefit to the employee. * Approved a revision to the Navajo County travel policy regarding reporting and approval of expenses and per diem requests. * Approved a grant application by the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office to the Gila River Indian Community for an opportunity to add three fleet vehicles to NCSO in the amount of $199,780. * Approved a grant application by the Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District to the Gila River Indian Community for an opportunity to add an ambulance and a gurney in the amount of $223,225. * Appointed David Widmaier as a justice of the peace pro tempore and as a juvenile hearing officer through Dec. 31. * Appointed Martha Pearce of White Mountain Lake and Jonathan Michael Nez of Shonto as Democratic precinct committeemen for their respective precincts. * Appointed Taber Heisler for a term ending in March 2023 and reappointed Randy Murph for a term ending in March 2025 to the Planning & Zoning Commission. The next meeting of the Navajo County Board of Supervisors will be at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 23, online at www.navajocountyaz.gov.
