South Michigan News

The John Summers Show in Coldwater hosted a Town Hall by telephone March 30 that was broadcast on 95.5 FM radio and moderated by Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake).

Constituents from Branch, Hillsdale and Jackson counties dialed into the Coronavirus Tele-Town Hall to ask their representatives questions about managing the spread of COVID-19, according to WTVB FM radio’s website.

The politicians accompanying Sen. Shirkey included Rep. Eric Leutheuser (R-Hillsdale), Rep. Julie Alexander (R-Hanover) and Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Springport), as well as Dr. Mark Smith of Henry Ford Allegiance Health hospital.

“These are trying times,” Alexander said in her opening remarks. “We appreciate hearing from you. Allowing us to hear what your concerns are guides and directs us in the manner that we should be focusing.”

Some of the more compelling questions and answers included the following:

Are testing sites still available? Where can I go to be tested? Do I contact my doctor, or do I wait until symptoms develop?

Smith: "We are still testing. We were one of the first areas to set up drive-through testing based on CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines. Some of the issues are having enough swabs to send to laboratories that can do the test because locally we did not initially have the availability at Henry Ford Allegiance Hospital. We were sending tests out to Salt Lake City, Utah, and to the state lab so there was a volume issue and an inability to run tests in a timely manner. We are out of that window now, and availability has opened up. We do still screen folks for symptoms [before] testing because 80% of people who have COVID-19 can take care of themselves if they have mild symptoms. But if you have the symptoms of fever, shortness of breath and a cough, you can use the MyCare advice line, which is what we use to screen people virtually first, then make an appointment for the drive-through center. That is still available. 

We have had a vaccine for this coronavirus for cattle for many years. Why can’t we adapt the vaccine for humans?

Smith: “There are many different strains of coronavirus. Strain 19 is brand-new, which is why it’s called 'novel.' It’s never been exposed to humans until now. Scientists are looking at developing immunizations and antibodies for this particular strain. Even in humans, there are multiple varieties of coronavirus, which cause different styles of disease and there is some mortality with this. Because it's a brand-new strain, scientists need time to develop that vaccine."

Leutheuser: "This is a multipronged effort. There’s one effort towards vaccine and immunizations. Therapeutics is the other side. That’s why you see interest in drug therapies. I have confidence. We have the whole Western world working on this. We could see vaccines a year from now."

I am scheduled for surgery on May 5, but it has been postponed. What are the chances I will have that surgery at all?

Dr. Smith: "We postponed time-sensitive procedures... so that people would not be exposed, which is why we have limited visitors, to stop the spread. You coming in for a procedure could expose you, and we didn’t want to do that to folks. Your physician should have had a discussion with you to decide whether your procedure could be postponed. We still do procedures here for limited, time-sensitive conditions that, if postponed, would cause a worsening in your disease state."