U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra visited Reno on Thursday to highlight the importance of vaccinating against COVID-19 and the flu.
Secretary Becerra arrived at Advanced Health Care (AHC) of Reno, a nursing and in-patient rehabilitation facility, to take part in a roundtable discussion with nursing home leadership, staff and patients. The agenda for the roundtable included the recently announced COVID-19 Winter Preparedness Plan and the Winter Playbook for Nursing Homes.
“We’re here in Reno, Nevada because we’re trying to reach every part of the country to make sure folks know [how] to enjoy the holidays, to celebrate Christmas, let’s be safe,” Becerra said.
He also shared the message he’d planned to at an earlier event with local Latine leaders that was canceled.
“One of the things I’m doing is reaching out to all communities in the Latino community. We have a campaign called ‘Mi Salud Importa’ where we’re trying to get the word out to everybody that your health matters and makes no difference where you live, what kind of income you have, it is important that you know that access to a vaccine is there for you free of charge.”
Before the roundtable discussion, Secretary Becerra was given a tour of the facility with patients receiving physical therapy and continuing their normal schedules. Johnny Hunt, the administrator at AHC, showed Secretary Becerra told him the history of the Reno location throughout the tour.
After the tour, Secretary Becerra met with a patient of the facility, Shirley, 94, who was going to receive her booster for COVID-19. While discussing how she was doing and what she thought of the vaccine, Shirley said that it was silly that people were still denying the vaccine after all this time.
“You’re hearing about elderly folks, young kids who are becoming infected, where it’s with COVID, whether it’s the flu, or whether it’s RSV, this virus is going around,” Secretary Becerra said. “What we want is for folks to know that there are ways that we can keep all of our family members healthy and safe. The most important one is of course on COVID and on the flu. Please get vaccinated, [it’s] safe and effective.”
While hearing from members of the nursing staff about what issues were some of the most problematic, Secretary Becerra also asked what could be done, especially by the government, to help facilities like this one.
“Congress has given us some funding to help reach rural America and we have, for example, on the vaccine, we have made the vaccine available in every part of the country, even the rural areas of this country,” Secretary Becerra said. “We’re also trying to make sure that the telehealth flexibilities that make it possible for someone to actually access the care of a health professional without leaving their home is there for them, continues to be available.”
According to the CDC, new cases of COVID-19 this week have gone up to 455,466 with 2,703 new deaths. Washoe County is averaging about 50 new cases per day reported to the health district, however health officials say with home testing not all cases are reported. Wastewater data collected earlier this month indicates cases are increasing.
With vaccinations of the updated booster dose only at 14.1%, this winter might see a new wave of cases around the country. Nearly 63% of Washoe County residents have been vaccinated for COVID-19, and nearly 32% have received a booster dose.
