Big ‘crowd’ for local COVID-19 weminar

West Memphis plays virtual host to coronavirus-centric presentation

By JOHN RECH

news@theeveningtimes.com

More than 2,100 local viewers participated in a live remote COVID-19 forum on Thursday evening. The City of West Memphis opened its social media forums, Facebook and YouTube Live, and broadcast on its local cable access channel 17 hosting a COVID-19 webinar. Doctor Shakeb Hashmi delivered a status report on the pandemic, urged people to take vaccine, and to continue with precautionary practices. The outreach was the second seminar conducted by the city since the novel coronavirus outbreak. Hashmi delivered information about new variant strains of the disease.

Hashmi has served the city as medical director under the Mayor Marco McClendon administration with primary duties aimed at keeping the city medical responders up to date on training and current with state requirements for the city ambulance service. He treated the first coronavirus case recorded in Crittenden County and stepped up by providing relevant developments to the public about the coronavirus.

Office of Emergency Management Director DeWayne Rose opened the webinar for audience questions for Hashmi.

“If you have any reservations about the vaccine we hope Dr. Hashmi’s words were reassuring,” said Rose.

Hashmi fielded questions submitted during the webinar after recounting the development of the pandemic and the tactics to fight its spread. Hashmi said the first city webinar came at the time when staying home for two weeks and practicing health habits was the focus to flatten the curve. The pandemic displayed a spike at mid-year and another after the holiday season. He said COVID-19 vacci9nes were the latest toll to ward off a future up tick in new cases. Hashmi responded to questions from the public.

Why wear double masks?

More protection is better than no protection. Dr. Fauci made that clear recently. If you have two masks wear two masks. The science is there, double masking does provide additional protection.

What are the reasons behind vaccine reluctance?

If you don’t follow science, then good luck. People ask me if the vaccine will alter their DNA or effect fertility. We will always have these question during a novel virus. Novel means new. It’s a

See WEBINAR, page A2

West Memphis City Medical Director Dr. Shakeb Hashmi, MD led a city sponsored webinar providing COVID-19 vaccine information for the public, on Thursday evening. Hashmi touted the vaccine safety and held high hopes vaccinations would minimize another peak in the pandemic.

Screen capture City of West Memphis Facebook Live

From page A1

generational challenge, once in a century. We will know more as science learns more. But I can tell you the vaccine is safe, I got got vaccinated myself. Just follow the guidelines. Register yourself to get the vaccination.

For those fearful of severe vaccine effects, this is the question I spend talking about with people. My reaction was I was walking stif_y after the second dose. After my rst dose was okay, a little fatigue, myalgia, a headache, low grade fever. Well we get that from a _u vaccination as well, not out of proportion with other side effects. Important to understand, very small side effects. Only four or ve people in a million get anaphylaxis reaction. The numbers are not signicant. We will have more information coming.

The vaccine is nothing compared to the disease. I would rather take the vaccine and get over it than to get the disease.

What about the differences in available vaccines? The two vaccines available now are Pzer and Moderna, the main difference is storage temperature and that impact availability. Pzer is stored at minus 70 degrees centigrade, but minus 20 degrees centigrade for Moderna. That’s what is good about the Astra-Zeneca and the Johnson and Johnson ones, you don’t have those temperature guidelines and an ordinary refrigerator can store those. That is why I am optimistic that vaccine momentum will pick up with the latest emergency vaccine approvals.

Is it true triple vaccine doses are being considered? It’s a possibility. I am all for it. My gut feeling is you’ll need a booster just like you get a _u shot every year. To have herd immunity you have to have 75 – 85 percent of the population vaccinated. By all government acknowledgement it is not possible. So a third dose, you are probably going to need it. John’s Hopkins, the Mayo Clinic are working toward an answer. I trust science and await the recommendations.

What impact will it be if the vaccines do prevent or reduce asymptomatic cases?

That would be good. That is the whole idea.

What do you know about the polyclonal antibodies developed for COVID-19 such as those developed at St. Jude’s? We use monoclonal anti-bodies. We use a a band. These are fast tracked for emergency operations. We have evidence that many high risk people, above 65, those with chronic lung disease, chronic cardio-vascular disease, amino suppressed people should get monoclonal antibodies if they get COVID-19 mild to moderate disease. Studies have shown and the FDA emergency authorization has followed. They don’t get that out of no-where. This one out of St. Jude, I am not aware of, but it is not a new idea. It’s been there since last year. Monoclonal are antibodies created by the companies and do prevent for those at high risk. Monoclonals should be used more in Arkansas.

For those not yet eligible for the vaccine, is it best for them to load up on vitamins?

I have detailed all this for the city website about vitamins and interferons are recommended based on our understanding of mechanism of infection. These are not treatments, but try to stay healthy. Maintain proper health, get good sleep, exercise daily. Decompress from everything going on, watch your stress. Hydrate yourself. Vitamins, vitamins, don’t overdue it but micro nutrient deciency is quite common. Do those things to boost your immunity. I encourage that.

Why should someone vaccinated with both rounds still have to wear a mask? We have new variants, the California variant, the UK variant will be the most prominent one, the South African and Brazilian variants. If I get vaccinated, I don’t know if I would go out and party. I may get exposed to something variant that I don’t yet have immunity. If you are exposed you won’t have to quarantine, but please wear a mask. A mask protects you. It protects you from the _u too. There are unknown unknowns. I’d rather protect myself from the variants. A personal trainer in Chicago gave 55 people infections. Don’t let your guards down. It would be a disservice to give people a false sense of security. Act wisely. Be responsible. It protects us. It protects others.

OEM Director Rose examined factors to obtaining more vaccine in this area for the public and explained the impetus around the upcoming Vaccine 1000 event at Lehr arena on for high risk people, those in class 1B.

The state ofArkansas knows that minority disparities are real, 2.8 times,” said Rose. “Dr. Michelle Smith with the Arkansas Department of Health, Director of Health Equity, she has chosen West Memphis for 1000 vaccines to for those 70 plus in age in our minority population. The other 24,000 people in the city are just as important. We are at the mercy of the state as to when we get more vaccine. The state gets the vaccines through a federal government allotment. When those vaccines become available our pharmacy partners make them available. I know the waiting lists are long. We are encouraged by the Johnson and Johnson vaccine coming online and making two million more doses available nationwide. it’s looking good for us to get the other populations vaccinated.