EID Task Force

The priority goal of the Grant County Community Health Council Emerging Infectious Diseases Task Force is to organize the community response to COVID-19 based on current scientific knowledge and understanding of the virus.

A healthy economy requires a healthy community, and a healthy community requires a healthy economy.

●      To revive our local economy, we need to control the spread of COVID-19

• The cumulative financial cost of the COVID-19 pandemic is estimated at more than $16 trillion, or approximately 90% of the annual gross domestic product of the US¹

• If COVID-19 spreads in Grant County, businesses, schools, and government offices may need to close down again, leading to additional economic damage
  • We can protect businesses as well as people by following best practices for reopening
  • Business owners need help training employees to assure safety practices are followed, including masking and physical distancing
  • Travel is a major vector for the virus. By encouraging people to buy local we can reduce travel, support our economy, and slow the spread of the virus

●      COVID-19 is a serious disease

• Every 2 minutes in the US, there’s a new death from COVID-19. Globally, there’s a new death from COVID-19 every 10–15 seconds²
  • As of October 15, 2020, nearly 1.1 million people worldwide, including at least 217,323 Americans and 921 New Mexicans, have died from COVID-19³
  • About 30–40% of people who contract the disease experience symptoms for 3–4 months or more⁴
  • COVID-19 can cause permanent damage to organs including the lungs, heart, kidneys, and brain

●      COVID-19 can affect anyone, and some people are more vulnerable

• Some people experience no symptoms or only mild illness but can still infect others
  • Spread in young adults is the first step toward communities becoming “hot spots”⁵
  • The risk of severe disease and death increases with age: Among people 75–84 years of age, the risk of hospitalization is 8 times and the risk of death is 220 times that of a healthy 20–29 year old⁶

●      COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in Grant County

• Case numbers in Grant County increased 80% from September 4th to October 15th and continue to rise⁷
  • One “super-spreader” event could rapidly overwhelm Grant County’s health-care resources⁸
  • COVID-19 is likely to spread widely in fall and winter, partly because we spend more time indoors, with windows closed
  • Holiday gatherings pose significant risk of increased spread
  • A bad flu season, combined with ongoing COVID-19 cases, could quickly overwhelm health-care resources nationwide, leaving Grant County on its own in caring for COVID-19 patients

●      We need to work together to control the spread of COVID-19 and to address its economic and social effects

• Leadership, coordination, and ongoing, reliable communication are essential to an effective response
  • Beating Covid-19 requires two general strategies:⁹
    • Drive down new cases with masks, hand washing, physical distancing, and closing risky indoor spaces.
    • Box the virus in with strategic testing, rapid isolation, complete contact tracing, and supportive quarantine

●      Coronavirus 2019, the virus that causes COVID-19, is a new virus, and scientists are rapidly learning about the virus

• Our community needs to adapt as the science and understanding change

For more information about local response efforts, see:

Grant County Coronavirus Update https://grantcountycoronavirusupdate.org/

NMDOH Coronavirus Updates: https://cv.nmhealth.org/

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1. Cutler DM, Summers LH. The COVID-19 Pandemic and the $16 Trillion Virus. JAMA. Published online October 12, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.19759
2. Dr. Thomas Friedan. https://twitter.com/DrTomFrieden/status/1315645991115255811?s=20
3. Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Retrieved Oct 14, 2020 from https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/
4. del Rio C, Collins LF, Malani P. Long-term Health Consequences of COVID-19. JAMA. Published online October 05, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.19719
5. Oster AM, Caruso E, DeVies J, Hartnett KP, Boehmer TK. Transmission Dynamics by Age Group in COVID-19 Hotspot Counties — United States, April–September 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 9 October 2020. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmw.mm6941e1external icon
6. CDC. COVID-19 Hospitalization and Deaths by Age. Retrieved 10/13/12020 from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/investigations-discovery/hospitalization-death-by-age.html
7. NMDOH Coronavirus Updates. https://cv.nmhealth.org/
8. Endo A, Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Working Group, Abbott S et al. Estimating the overdispersion in COVID-19 transmission using outbreak sizes outside China [version 3; peer review: 2 approved]. Wellcome Open Res 2020, 5:67 (https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15842.3)
9. Prevent Epidemics. Playbook. https://preventepidemics.org/covid19/resources/playbook/

A healthy economy requires a healthy community.

Background: We are working together to mount a coordinated community-wide response to COVID-19 in Grant County. We are using the C ollective Impact model,¹ an evidence-based framework for community action, to design the initiative. Collective Impact “refers to the commitment of a group of important actors from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific social problem at scale.” The basic elements of Collective Impact are:

• A common agenda: Coming together to collectively define the problem and create a shared vision to solve it.
• Shared measurement: Agreeing to track progress in the same way, which allows continuous improvement.
• Mutually reinforcing activity: Coordinating collective efforts to maximize the end result.
• Continuous communication: Building trust and relationships among all participants.
• Backbone support: A team dedicated to orchestrating the work of the group.

Our Mission: The GCCHC Infectious Diseases Taskforce organizes, aligns, and secures resources to assure that Grant County can prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the medical, economic, and social threats and hazards posed by infectious disease outbreaks. Our current priority is COVID-19.

Our Vision: Si se puede! Yes we can!

• We will work together to eliminate COVID-19 in Grant County so that our residents, businesses, schools, and economy can thrive.
• We will be a role model statewide for COVID-19 prevention, mitigation, and recovery.

Our Goals:

• Mount a nonpartisan, evidence-based, data-driven response to control the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate its impact in Grant County
• Provide our community with accurate, science-based information
• Ensure our health-care system is not overwhelmed and protect our health-care workers
• Support effective reopening of the community including businesses, childcare, schools, and government agencies
• Identify and address gaps in social safety-net and public safety services

For a description of the model, see The Community Toolbox: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/overview/models-for-community-health-and-development/collective-impact/main