{"id":17814,"date":"2021-11-09T14:21:19","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T19:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=17814"},"modified":"2021-11-09T14:24:49","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T19:24:49","slug":"a-long-journey-indian-country-continues-to-suffer-from-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/11\/09\/a-long-journey-indian-country-continues-to-suffer-from-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A long journey\u2019: Indian Country continues to suffer from COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1156830961&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;show_comments=true&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=true&#038;visual=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/indianz\" title=\"indianz\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">indianz<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/indianz\/indian-health-service-covid-19-media-event-anadarko-oklahoma-november-8-2021\" title=\"Indian Health Service COVID-19 Media Event - Anadarko, Oklahoma - November 8, 2021\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">Indian Health Service COVID-19 Media Event &#8211; Anadarko, Oklahoma &#8211; November 8, 2021<\/a><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">\u2018A long journey\u2019: Indian Country continues to suffer from COVID-19<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Tuesday, November 9, 2021<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe <a href=https:\/\/www.ihs.gov\/>Indian Health Service<\/a> has begun rolling out <a href=\/covid19\/>COVID-19<\/a> vaccines for youth as the coronavirus continues to have an outsize impact on Indian Country more than 18 months into the pandemic.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nOn Monday, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ihs.gov\/oklahomacity\/healthcarefacilities\/anadarko\/\">Anadarko Indian Health Center<\/a> in Oklahoma administered the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to youth between the ages of 5 and 11. Officials hailed <a href=https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/news-events\/press-announcements\/fda-authorizes-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-emergency-use-children-5-through-11-years-age>federal authorization<\/a> as a key step in the ongoing fight against the coronavirus, which has affected American Indians and Alaska Natives at disproportionate levels.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cIt&#8217;s been a long journey to get here,\u201d <a href=https:\/\/www.ihs.gov\/sites\/aboutihs\/themes\/responsive2017\/display_objects\/documents\/bios\/FowlerElizabeth.pdf>Elizabeth Fowler<\/a>, the acting director of the IHS, said during a <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/11\/09\/indian-health-service-covid-19-media-event\/>media event<\/a> at the facility. \u201cWe are one step closer to reaching community immunity with the recent authorization of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.\u201d\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">IHS Acting Director Elizabeth Fowler visited the Anadarko Indian Health Center in Oklahoma today as they began administering <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#COVID19<\/a> vaccines for children 5-11 years old. This is a significant step in the fight against COVID-19, bringing us closer to reaching <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CommunityImmunity?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CommunityImmunity<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yXrktJoGrW\">pic.twitter.com\/yXrktJoGrW<\/a><\/p>&mdash; IndianHealthService (@IHSgov) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IHSgov\/status\/1457841769601765380?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 8, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nFowler, a citizen of the <a href=\"https:\/\/comanchenation.com\">Comanche Nation<\/a>, was joined by tribal leaders who also welcomed the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for young people in their communities. With schools returning to in-person classes, Native youth have been at heightened risk for contracting and transmitting the disease, sometimes to devastating outcomes.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cI just recently had my own granddaughter, who caught COVID from a school teacher,\u201d said Bobby Gonzalez, the chairman of the <a href=https:\/\/mycaddonation.com\/>Caddo Nation<\/a>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWhile youth tend to experience less severe illness after contracting the coronavirus, the same cannot always be said for adults in their homes. Gonzalez disclosed that he recently lost two family members to COVID-19, which has killed American Indians and Alaska Natives at the highest rates in the nation.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cHer grandson brought COVID-19 home,\u201d Gonzalez said of his sister. \u201cShe made it for about a month.\u201d\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cShe passed away, which was devastating to our own family, as well as most families that had these types of losses,\u201d the chairman said.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cIt&#8217;s not our first loss. We&#8217;ve been devastated as a community,\u201d Gonzalez added. A brother also contracted COVID-19 at around the same time, he said.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cWe buried them both the same on the same day,\u201d  Gonzalez said. \u201cSo this is real.\u201d\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<div class=\"fb-post\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CaddoNationofOklahoma\/posts\/260750049430146\" data-width=\"552\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block;\"><\/div>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe <a href=https:\/\/www.ihs.gov\/oklahomacity\/>Oklahoma City Area of the IHS<\/a> in fact has been one of the hardest hit by COVID-19, even after the widespread availability of the vaccine. The region, which serves all of  Oklahoma, the state of Kansas and portions of Texas, has endured the highest coronavirus positivity rates it has seen since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThroughout August and September, the Oklahoma City Area consistently ranked as the IHS region with the highest or second-highest rate of COVID-19 positivity, which is defined as the number of coronavirus tests that return positive during a seven-day span.  The development was a dramatic one, as tribal communities in the region had not  previously  experienced such a surge.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nTerri Parton, the president of the <a href=https:\/\/wichitatribe.com\/>Wichita and Affiliated Tribes<\/a>, perhaps offered an explanation for the trend. She admitted that she waited until September to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and it was only after her 15-year-old nephew contracted the disease.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cHe got tested and he had COVID,\u201d Parton said at the media event. \u201cOne of the nurses came out from here at the clinic and was talking to me about the vaccine, and kind of talked me into it.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p \r\n\u201cSo I went around and I got the vaccine,\u201d Parton said at the clinic in Anadarko.\r\n<p><\/p><div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\" data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/div><P><\/P>\r\nCOVID-19 positivity rates have finally fallen in the Oklahoma City Area, according to  more recent   data from the IHS. But federal officials couldn&#8217;t fully explain why the region underwent such a significant surge, followed by an apparently flattening of the coronavirus.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAfter being asked by Indianz.Com during the media event to provide more details about COVID-19 in Oklahoma, Fowler passed the question to <a href=https:\/\/www.ihs.gov\/sites\/aboutihs\/themes\/responsive2017\/display_objects\/documents\/bios\/TravisWatts.pdf>Travis Watt<\/a>, who serves as the director of the Oklahoma City Area of the IHS. He characterized the trends seen over the last few months as a natural occurrence of the pandemic. \r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cWe&#8217;ve had kind of dramatic spikes,\u201d said Watt, who is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation.  \u201cWe&#8217;ve  had dramatic increases and  dramatic decreases. But it seems like it&#8217;s over a week, we&#8217;ll see these spikes start to trend down.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWhen asked by Indianz.Com whether the IHS has taken any steps to reduce COVID-19 positivity rates in the region, Watt did not offer any specifics from the agency&#8217;s standpoint. While he acknowledged that more   patients  have been  seeking out the vaccine, he returned to the idea that other regions of Indian Country  are expected to see similar spikes in the coming weeks.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cIt sounds counterintuitive, but when you have the spikes and the variant increases, we also have an increase in vaccination,\u201d said Watt. \u201cSo we think of course, vaccinations play a part of it but  we also think it&#8217;s also part of the natural progression of the pandemic.\u201d\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As of November 7, 2021, 11 of 12 Indian Health Service areas have high <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#COVID19<\/a> positivity rates:<br><br>Phoenix\u201415.3% of tests positive<br>Navajo\u201413.9%<br>Billings\u201413.7%<br>Tucson\u201413.2%<br>Bemidji\u201412.7%<br>Great Plains\u20149.3%<br>Albuquerque\u20148.9%<br>Alaska\u20147.6%<br>California\u20146.5%<br>Nashville\u20146%<br>Oklahoma City\u20145.5%<\/p>&mdash; indianz.com (@indianz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indianz\/status\/1457775155631910925?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 8, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nData <a href=https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/covid19\/2021\/11\/08\/indian-health-service-department-of-health-and-human-services-467\/>released by the IHS<\/a> on Monday shows how other regions are in fact seeing higher COVID-19 positivity rates. For example, the <a href=https:\/\/www.ihs.gov\/phoenix\/>Phoenix Area<\/a>, the <a href=https:\/\/www.ihs.gov\/navajo\/>Navajo Area<\/a> and the <a href=https:\/\/www.ihs.gov\/tucson\/>Tucson Area<\/a>, all of which  include the state of Arizona, are now among the hardest hit by new infections, according to the agency.\r\n<P><\/p>\r\nSo with Indian Country continuing to suffer from the coronavirus, Watt stressed the need for tribes and their citizens to remain vigilant about the spread of the disease.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cThe leadership that we have within the Indian communities &#8212; about social distancing and practicing hand washing &#8212;  all those things come into play when it comes to the reduction of the pandemic,\u201d Watt said at the health center in Anadarko.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAccording to the  <a href=https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/index.html#demographicsovertime>Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>, American Indians and Alaska Natives have experienced the highest infection, hospitalization and death rates, when compared to other racial and ethnic groups. During the media event on Monday, the  IHS cited the disparities  in encouraging more Native people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cWe know American Indians and Alaska Natives have had the highest hospitalization and death rates from COVID-19,\u201d said  Greggory Woitte, the chief medical officer for the Oklahoma City Area of the IHS. \u201cGetting vaccinated with one of our three safe and effective vaccines is the best way to prevent this.\u201d\r\n<P><\/P><HR>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">CDC Data: COVID-19 Weekly Cases and Weekly Deaths<\/div>\r\nCOVID-19 cases and deaths among American Indians and Alaska Native have been the highest in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The highest weekly case rate was seen on August 7, 2021, long after the widespread availability of the COVID-19 vaccine. The highest weekly death rate was reported  on December  19, 2020, and has not been surpassed, the data shows.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/11\/09\/a-long-journey-indian-country-continues-to-suffer-from-covid-19\/cdccovid19weeklycases\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-17833\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3823\" height=\"2141\" data-attachment-id=\"17833\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/11\/09\/a-long-journey-indian-country-continues-to-suffer-from-covid-19\/cdccovid19weeklycases\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/09\/cdccovid19weeklycases.png\" data-orig-size=\"3823,2141\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"COVID-19 Cases\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;COVID-19 Weekly Cases per 100,000 Population by Race\/Ethnicity. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/09\/cdccovid19weeklycases-1024x573.png\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/09\/cdccovid19weeklycases.png\" alt=\"COVID-19 Cases\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17833\" \/><\/a>  <figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Source: COVID-19 Weekly Cases per 100,000 Population by Race\/Ethnicity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/figcaption>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/11\/09\/a-long-journey-indian-country-continues-to-suffer-from-covid-19\/cdccovid19weekydeaths\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-17834\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3823\" height=\"2141\" data-attachment-id=\"17834\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/11\/09\/a-long-journey-indian-country-continues-to-suffer-from-covid-19\/cdccovid19weekydeaths\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/09\/cdccovid19weekydeaths.png\" data-orig-size=\"3823,2141\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"COVID-19 Deaths\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;COVID-19 Weekly Deaths per 100,000 Population by Race\/Ethnicity. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/09\/cdccovid19weekydeaths-1024x573.png\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/09\/cdccovid19weekydeaths.png\" alt=\"COVID-19 Deaths\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17834\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">  Source: COVID-19 Weekly Cases per 100,000 Population by Race\/Ethnicity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/figcaption>\r\n<HR>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nAs of <a href=https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/covid19\/2021\/11\/09\/indian-health-service-department-of-health-and-human-services-468\/>November 8, the IHS has administered more than 1.46 million<\/a> doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Among the 12 regions of Indian Country, the  Oklahoma City Area accounts for the largest number of doses administered, as well as distributed, the data shows.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nNationally, American Indians and Alaska Natives have achieved the highest vaccination rates among all racial and ethnic groups, <a href=https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/index.html#vaccination-demographics-trends>according to the CDC<\/a>. As of November 8, 58.8 percent of Native people have received at least once COVID-19 dose, the highest rate in the nation. Additionally, 50.2 percent are fully vaccinated, which again is the highest rate in the United States. \r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives, however, account for a small percentage of the overall population of the U.S.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cI really stress to our Indian communities,\u201d said President Parton of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes said on Monday, \u201cthat you get the vaccination to  help protect your elders and your children.\u201d \r\n <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/09\/indianhealthservicecovid19.jpg\" alt=\"Indian Health Service COVID-19\" width=\"0\" height=\"0\" class=\"invisible\" \/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Indian Health Service has begun rolling out COVID-19 vaccines for youth as the coronavirus continues to have an outsize impact on Indian Country more than 18 months into the pandemic.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,1],"tags":[42,2157,2156,373,5,1165,2162,248,210,47,2158,2161,2159,102],"class_list":["post-17814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-national","tag-arizona","tag-bobby-gonzalez","tag-caddo","tag-cdc","tag-coronavirus","tag-elizabeth-fowler","tag-greggory-woitte","tag-hhs","tag-ihs","tag-race","tag-terri-parton","tag-travis-watt","tag-wichita","tag-youth","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/09\/indianhealthservicecovid19.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-4Dk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}