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Q&A with Dr. Kravec | ‘A tale of two Ohios’

By Jess Hardin

July 15, 2021 3:52 AM

YOUNGSTOWN — After six months of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, less than half of Mahoning Valley's residents are vaccinated.

The dangers associated with forgoing the vaccine are mounting as the more contagious delta variant makes up a greater proportion of Ohio's COVID-19 cases.

We asked Mercy Health Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Jim Kravec to weigh in on what makes this variant unique and how to prevent infection.

Hint: you've heard this advice before.

During a news conference, Ohio Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said the state reported an uptick in cases as a result of the delta variant. Are we seeing this locally?

Kravec: As far as overall cases, I think we're relatively flat to where we were over the last couple weeks, which is a very good thing. We still see patients in our hospitals. We still see patients in our walk-in care centers. But, as far as admitted patients, so far, we're at a good state and not seeing a big uptick.

How is the delta variant different from the virus we've seen in the last year?

Kravec: This is really a mutation, a variant of the original COVID-19 virus, and this is normal that we have a variant. This is what viruses do: they mutate. And then they cause either the same or different type of illness. So the delta variant is really an expected occurrence, meaning the virus has mutated.

What we found is that this variant is a little bit more contagious than other strains, and also, it causes a little bit more serious illness. And, people get sick quicker is what we're finding. So, it's just the fact that it's more contagious and it can be a little bit more serious when someone contracts it.

Is it unusual for the coronavirus to have mutated so quickly?

Kravec: No, this is normal. What we're seeing is what we see with viruses typically.

Is the delta variant at a greater risk of infecting younger people?

Kravec: It's at risk of infecting people who aren't vaccinated, and that's the most important thing to talk about. If you're vaccinated, the delta strain is covered. So, it's affecting people who are not vaccinated.

Are you seeing many breakthrough cases of people who are vaccinated getting COVID-19?

Kravec: We're seeing some breakthrough cases. We've had hundreds of thousands of people in the Mahoning Valley and millions of people in Ohio [get vaccinated] and if we know the data, with 95 percent effectiveness, there are going to be some breakthrough cases. So we are still seeing some, but nowhere near the number of cases we saw before.

If you're vaccinated, what symptoms should you look out for?

Kravec: Really, the symptoms are the same. If someone is vaccinated but has fever, chills, cough, body aches, those types of symptoms, they should get evaluated. They should go to a walk-in care site and get a COVID-19 test. That's how we're treating that.

For vaccinated people who have started to return to normal, should they start masking up again in public? What do you recommend?

Kravec: We have a clear path at the end of this, and the path is to get vaccinated. There is a plentiful supply. Mercy has supply every day. Health departments have supply.

If someone's vaccinated, from what we know, the delta variant is covered. If they're not vaccinated, they're putting themselves at risk. And they should get vaccinated.

As a vaccinated person, when are you wearing a mask these days?

Kravec: Since the state order has been lifted, I wore a mask on an airplane. I wore a mask in a different state on public transportation where it was mandated still. I wear a mask at the hospital, where it's mandated. In healthcare settings, masks are still mandated and still recommended, per CDC. So that's where I've worn a mask since the state rules have changed. Because I'm vaccinated, I'm very comfortable with the situation.

Can vaccinated people feel safe about vacationing?

Kravec: That's correct. If you're vaccinated, everything we know is the delta variant is part of that vaccine coverage.

Physicians from Ohio State and the Ohio Department of Health talked about this, and I've been saying this in interviews for a couple months now: it really is a tale of two stories of Ohioans, of Americans. There's the group that's vaccinated, who really aren't at great risk for serious illness or death from COVID-19. There's a chance they still have breakthrough infection. Usually, most times, it's very mild. So there's that group.

Then there's the group that's not vaccinated, and they may very well not wear masks and go about life as normal. But, there is a chance of infection. There's a higher likelihood of infection from delta than normal COVID-19, because it's very contagious. And then, there's a higher chance of hospitalization and death. We're seeing that, where people have chosen not to get vaccinated, they [have] contracted COVID-19 and they've died from it. Completely preventable, if they were vaccinated.

With the prospect of the delta variant coming to Ohio, are you feeling comfortable about our hospital capacity heading into the fall?

Kravec: I'm very comfortable, and the reason I'm comfortable is because half of the population has been vaccinated. So rather than worrying about the entire population potentially filling a hospital, it's not half the population essentially, as far as COVID. The spread is less when there's only half the people who could get infected. So what I would say is: get vaccinated. Absolutely the most important message I would have for folks who aren't vaccinated right now.

What are your thoughts on whether schools should require students to wear masks as we head back to school?

Kravec: I think we still have to wait and see where the state land on that, whether the state defers to local health departments or whether local health departments defer to schools, I think it's still up in the air. So, we'll have to see where that lands.

My 12-year-old and my 14-year-old are both vaccinated. I'm very, very happy about that. My younger children — my 7-year-old and my 9-year-old — obviously are not, because they're not eligible yet, so we just have to wait and see where this all lands.

Do you have a sense of the prevalence of the delta variant in the Mahoning Valley?

Kravec: No, we don't test locally whether we have the normal COVID-19 or the delta variant. Tests are just coming back as positive or negative, and that's true for most testing in Ohio. We know based on the sampling though, that the delta variant is the majority. I think I saw somewhere in the 60s af far as the percentage of the delta variant. So the way public health works and epidemiology is we just take a sampling and spread that over the state.

Is there anything you'd like to tell local folks about dealing with the delta variant?

Kravec: I think this is a very different conversation now in July of 2021 where this is concerned than we had back in say, for example, July of 2020 or October 2020. [I've told] the story before where a neighbor of mine I saw on Halloween said, "Hey Doc, when is this all this going to get done? I'm tired of this. What's the end game?"

My answer was, "The end game is the vaccine."

After that, it comes down to personal decisions people make. We're at six months into the vaccine, people have every opportunity. So, at this point, it's a personal decision for what they do for their chance of infection. At this point, there is a variant. it's pretty serious when it comes to how infectious it can be, when it comes to how strong the virus is.

But there's a really, really good option out there for prevention and half the people have chosen to receive it. Half the people have not. So I can't stress enough for people to get vaccinated today ... The fact that this is a story out there, the new variant is interesting.

But the prevention is the same as it was whether it was the first original form of COVID-19 or the first variant or now the delta variant ... the vaccine treats this, covers it and it really takes away all of the concern that we have.

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Here's a listing of Mercy Health Wal-In Care Clinics. To learn more about virus response in the Mahoning Valley and at Mercy Health, check out Mahoning Matters' previous Q&As with Dr. Kravec:

This story was originally published July 15, 2021 at 3:52 AM with the headline "Q&A with Dr. Kravec | ‘A tale of two Ohios’."