By Tanya Dennis

A member of Oakland Frontline Healers believes that simple common sense is the practice needed to halt the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Donna Carey, a physician for Alameda County and first lady of True Vine Ministries — which has provided testing and vaccines for the virus — spoke to the Oakland Post in a recent interview.

“If we’re to recover from this pandemic and return to normal, we must approach COVID-19 with common sense,” noting that as of Nov. 9, 2021, Alameda County has seen over 120,000 infections and over 1,400 deaths, with African Americans, Latino/a/x, and Pacific Islanders disproportionately affected.

“People have a false sense that the worse is over because the Omicron variant is not as deadly as the Delta variant, but what they don’t realize is that, although the milder Omicron variant dominates the news, the more deadly Delta variant hasn’t gone anywhere,” Carey said.

“It’s still here and Omicron is so contagious it has surpassed the deaths caused by the Delta variant because of increased infection rates,” Carey said. “An average of 2,200 people a day die (nationally), mostly unvaccinated, due to Omicron. I recommend everyone double-mask when out in public.”

Carey further recommends people remain in their personal social bubbles. “When COVID-19 hit in 2020, we were advised to keep our social circles small,” Carey said.

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People are returning to theaters, restaurants, and gatherings with strangers. “Use common sense,” Carey said. “You don’t know where these people have been or what they have been exposed to. Stay in your bubble, only socialize with close friends and family.”

Carey recommends everyone continue to employ good hand-washing routines as well. “Good hand washing is also good for the flu virus,” she said. “The reason we had such a low flu season last year was because people were washing their hands. Germs are there when you scratch your eyes or put something in your mouth: hand washing is about cleanliness and should continue as a life habit.”

Expressing concern over the long-range impact of the virus on children, Carey encourages every person aged 5 and older to get vaccinated. “Our children are facing long-term consequences. Omicron has changed the landscape,” Carey said. “There have been over 1 million pediatric cases (nationally) in the last two weeks. That’s an 80% increase of infection.

“Will those children fully recover? We don’t know what the long-term effect will be in 20 or 30 years. Will this impact their health and reactivate like chicken pox and create shingles or create brain fog?”

The best protection for kids ages 5 and under is for their parents to be vaccinated and continue to vigilant “about who comes over your house, where your kids are going, and show them the right way to wear a mask. Kids playing sports should limit their play to one team, not one or two, even if they are vaccinated. Limiting exposure (to the virus) is key,” Carey said.

Carey also took a common-sense attitude to the incidence of vaccine-related deaths. “With any medication there is a risk ratio factor,” Carey said. Each person must consider their own health protocols. Is their diabetes out of control? Are they on steroids long term? Is their immune system compromised?

Each individual must talk to their doctors “about the vaccine. Have that conversation,” Carey said.

Carey also spoke to the issue of irrational fear of vaccines. “We hear of people dying from car and plane accidents, (but) that doesn’t prevent us from getting in a car or on a plane,” Carey said. “People die from eating shrimp or peanuts, yet we know the chance of dying from eating shrimp is low. There are side effects from COVID-19 and the vaccine, but (potential death from the virus is) way lower for those that take the vaccine.”

COVID-19 will end depending on “when we get to a high level of people getting vaccinated,” Carey said. “COVID is going to be here for a while, so it’s going to be boosters every year, and developing vaccines for new variants, much like the flu shot every year.

“The reality is, I don’t see us getting away from needing a booster, and, fortunately, I don’t have any concerns about the vaccine affecting us adversely.”