As COVID cases rise in New Bedford, doctors urge vaccines

NEW BEDFORD — Low vaccination rates are worrying local health care providers as the fourth winter with COVID-19 sets in.

Just 6.5% of New Bedford residents have received a COVID-19 shot this season, according to state data. The city is tied with Fall River for the fifth-lowest vaccination rate in Massachusetts.

“There’s every reason to get vaccinated, because a portion of patients do get quite ill with COVID,” said Dr. Dani Hackner, chief clinical officer for Southcoast Health.

Vaccination rates are low across the entire state — only 18% of residents have received a COVID-19 shot this season. Just 18 communities have vaccinated more than a third of their residents this fall.

Last week, the concentration of coronavirus in New Bedford’s wastewater hit its highest point since tracking began in July 2022, more than double last winter’s peak. The steep increase suggests that COVID-19 infections are spreading rapidly in the community.

COVID-19 cases are increasing alongside two other seasonal respiratory illnesses: the flu and RSV. Simultaneous surges of all three viruses last season were dubbed a “triple-demic.”

Staff at Greater New Bedford Community Health are noticing the uptick, said Cheryl Bartlett, the organization’s CEO. Southcoast Health is also seeing a rise in respiratory infections, with hospital bed occupancy rates above 90%, Hackner said.

Health care providers are urging people to get vaccinated for COVID-19, even if they have already had the virus. A vaccination is even more protective than a past infection, Hackner said. He also urges people to get the shot because New Bedford residents have a higher rate of comorbidities, which are existing medical conditions that tend to make COVID-19 infections worse.

COVID-19 continues to put people in intensive care, Hackner said.

“Why increase your risk of dying and having a disability, being able to work or care for your family, or having the side effects of COVID?” he said. “Why even take the risk of, for a long period of time, losing your sense of taste?”

Why vaccination rates are so low

New Bedford had a low COVID-19 vaccination rate even at the peak of the pandemic, and now, people are finding it easier to justify not getting the shot, Bartlett said.

“I think that when you are no longer in the throes of it being of epidemic proportions, people shy away,” she said.

Some religious organizations advocated against getting vaccinated earlier in the pandemic because the cell lines of aborted fetuses were used in the development of some vaccines, Bartlett said. Some people might also steer clear of health care settings because they are undocumented immigrants.

“When you go to somewhere and get health care, they ask you a lot of questions about yourself,  and that can be something that scares people away,” she said.

Some countries don’t have the kind of preventive health care that’s available in the U.S., so some immigrants might not be used to regularly seeing a doctor and receiving vaccines, Bartlett added.

New Bedford also lags behind the rest of the state with flu vaccinations — 23% of city residents have had a flu shot this season, compared to 36% statewide, the latest data shows.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a new RSV vaccine this season for babies and older adults, who are at the highest risk of getting severely ill with the virus. But only about 1,200 adults in New Bedford have gotten the shot, and just 71 of the city’s young children have had it. 

“It’s worrisome,” Hackner said. “It’s so important that those community members take advantage of RSV vaccination.”

Supply chain shortages have slowed the RSV vaccine’s distribution. And it’s expensive, so providers haven’t been inclined to order a surplus of doses in case they can’t bill insurance companies for administering them, Bartlett said. She added that children’s vaccines are free to patients in Massachusetts, so the cost shouldn’t deter families.

Doctors have also faced challenges in getting parents and patients to trust the RSV vaccine, Hackner said. But the FDA-approved shot is safe, he said.

The availability of so many vaccines means that some older adults could be due for several different shots this season — the COVID-19, flu, and RSV vaccines, plus pneumococcal and shingles vaccines recommended for older adults.

The good news for those people is that some vaccines can be taken together, Hackner said. He got his flu and COVID-19 shots on the same day. If you need to prioritize one shot over another, Hackner recommended getting shots for COVID-19, flu, and RSV first because they are the most life-threatening.

How health care providers are preparing

Providers said they are still concerned about COVID-19 this year, but not as much as they were during the pandemic. Effective vaccines and treatments are widely available, and people have more immunity than they did a few years ago, they said. Bartlett said the virus may be moving into an endemic stage, like the flu.

But providers emphasized that COVID-19 can still cause severe illness, and that puts pressure on doctors.

“We do think we are prepared in responding, but it’s within a health care environment that is also struggling against demand capacity challenges,” Hackner said.

Health care staffing has been a challenge throughout the pandemic, both because of workforce shortages and workers getting sick during surges. Providers said they are taking steps to mitigate those problems — SouthCoast Health has stepped up recruiting and streamlined its program for staffing temporary nurses.

Much of the staff at Greater New Bedford Community Health was out sick during last year’s COVID-19 and flu surge, stretching capacity. To prevent another cluster of infections this year, unvaccinated staff are wearing masks, and all staff will have to wear masks in any department where more than one staff member has tested positive for COVID-19. The center has also stepped up disinfection procedures.

Right now, patients at the community health center don’t have to wear masks. It was a challenge to enforce mask mandates earlier in the pandemic, Bartlett said.

“My hope is that we don’t have to do the masking mandatorily, but I’m prepared to do it if we need to,” she said.

How to protect yourself, and what to do if you get sick

On top of getting vaccinated, providers recommend other ways to stay healthy this season.

If you’re recovering from COVID-19 or you’re vulnerable to infection, or if you’re visiting someone who is, wearing a mask can help reduce your risk, Hackner said. He recommended following the CDC’s masking guidance, which is tied to local hospital admission levels.

The CDC currently considers hospital admissions to be low in Bristol County. The agency recommends mask wearing at medium and high admission levels.

Hackner acknowledged that most people won’t wear masks this season.

“I think a lot of folks will be really frustrated with years of masking,” he said. “Make your own personal decision about masking, but be thoughtful, because you do have the ability to prevent infection.”

If you’re experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, Hackner recommends using the widely available at-home test kits. If you test negative on your first day of symptoms, try testing again in the following days, he said.

You can order up to eight free test kits from the federal government at covid.gov/tests.

The CDC still recommends isolating yourself from others for at least five days if you have COVID-19 and to wear a mask around others for another five days after that. More specific recommendations are available on the agency’s website.

Treatments like Paxlovid, the antiviral pill, can help make an infection less severe. Paxlovid is recommended for people with risk factors, including those who are older than 65 or who have medical conditions like sickle cell disease, diabetes, or a weakened immune system.

But those treatments only work if they’re given early in an infection, Hackner said. He encouraged people to get medical care right away if they’re feeling very sick. If you’re unsure whether your case counts as severe, he recommended reaching out to your doctor.

“If you’re severely ill, don’t wait,” he said. “Don’t try to weather the storm.”

Hackner emphasized that people have the power to prevent severe infections by masking, testing, isolating, and seeking treatment when it’s appropriate — and encouraging friends and family to do the same.

“There are things you can do to save a life,” he said.

Email Grace Ferguson at gferguson@newbedfordlight.org.

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