Community Outbreak of COVID-19 in Fairfax County
From the list of the disease, you will pick covid or influenza. because the first part field experience I will work on one of them. let me know which outbreak you will choose so that can work on one of them. I live in Fairfax County. I have uploaded some document about regional cdc and disease reporting for va see if that help or you can use your own.
Part II: Community Outbreak
B. Select one of the given communicable diseases that has had a regional outbreak in your local region according to the “National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Regions” in the Web Links section. The outbreak must have occurred in the last 50 years:
• influenza
• measles
• respiratory syndrome coronavirus
• HIV/AIDS
• Ebola virus
• tuberculosis
• Zika virus
C. Describe the outbreak of the disease selected in part B, including each of the following:
• the name of the disease
• the name of your CDC region impacted by the outbreak
• the date (i.e., month and year) the outbreak was discovered in your CDC region
• the other CDC regions impacted by the outbreak
1. Describe two risk factors associated with the selected outbreak, the route of transmission of the disease, and one epidemiological determinant for the selected outbreak.
D. Discuss how an outbreak of the disease from part B would impact your community at a systems level (e.g., the functioning of schools, local government, businesses, hospitals).
1. Compare a community outbreak that occurred in a country outside of the U.S. at a systems level.
2. Explain the reporting protocol for the community from local levels to the CDC if an outbreak of the selected disease were to occur in your CDC region.
3. Discuss two strategies (e.g., patient education, community vaccine promotion) that you would recommend to prevent an outbreak of the selected disease in your CDC region and include why each strategy is recommended.
F. Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
G. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.
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Coronavirus Pandemic- Fairfax County
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Introduction
The world has had a series of dangerous epidemics and pandemics that have not only doomed whole civilizations but also affected the once powerful nations by disrupting their economies and killing millions of citizens. The pandemics include Spanish Flu, Influenza, Yellow Fever, Polio, Aids, Swine Flu, Ebola, Zika, and the most recent, Coronavirus. However, while these terrible disease outbreaks continue to threaten humanity, the advancement of epidemiology has mitigated the dire consequences. Hence, people today cannot suffer as their ancestors once did. This paper analyses the COVID-19 outbreak in Fairfax County, Virginia. Additionally, it discusses the risk factors of the Coronavirus outbreak, its impacts on system levels and their functioning, reporting protocols to be utilized by the county, and the strategies to curtail its rampant spread within the county. A comparison of the impacts of the virus on the functioning of the system levels of Fairfax County and Britain will also be included.
Community Outbreak of COVID-19 in Fairfax County
COVID-19 began as a community outbreak (a sudden rise in the number of active disease cases within a community) in Wuhan City but later spread to over 47 countries worldwide in weeks. The first confirmed Coronavirus case in the U.S. was reported on January 21, 2020. Over the year, three pandemic waves (spring, summer, and autumn waves) remained till 2021. The U.S. is among the countries that experienced the highest COVID-19-confirmed cases and deaths in 2021 (Pei et al., 2021).
Fairfax County borders both Arlington County and Alexandria, making it a suburban ring of Washington D.C. It is the most populated county in the state. Fairfax County is located in Virginia, which is situated in CDC Region B. Just like other cities within Virginia, Fairfax was not spared by the outbreak. The first Coronavirus-confirmed case in the county was reported on March 7, 2020. The county’s administration began to implement effective measures to contain virus’ spread. This included the closure of all parks, playgrounds, and other recreational centers by the Fairfax County Park Authority. On March 30, 2020, a stay-at-home order was issued by the governor to manage the transmission of the virus.
As of December 2020, Virginia had 242,489 cases and 4,113 deaths. By this time, Fairfax County was the most populated, recording over 350 COVID-19 cases daily. In total, the County has reported over 178,716 Coronavirus cases and 1476 Coronavirus deaths. Being a global pandemic, all countries in the world have been uniquely impacted by the outbreak. All the other 9 CDC regions, from A to J, were impacted by the Coronavirus in various capacities.
Risk Factors and Epidemiology Determinants Associated with Coronavirus
Various risk factors make individuals more prone to contracting the Coronavirus. CDC (2023) explains that demographic aspects (such as race, ethnicity, and age), underlying medical conditions, and being unvaccinated increase the risk of contracting COVID-19. Based on the data from NVSS (National Vital Statistics System), the risk of death of individuals aged 50-64 years, 65-74 years, 75-84 years, and 85 (and above) years is 25 times, 60 times, 140 times, and 340 times, respectively higher than that of individuals aged 18-29 years. According to the Community Foundation of Northern Virginia, Fairfax County is among the countries with the highest aging population at 9.9%. Additionally, racial, socioeconomic, and ethnic disparities are experienced in the Coronavirus disease, hospitalization, and death rates. These disparities are attributed to barriers to accessing healthcare facilities and services (like lack of transportation, insurance services, or inability to take time off work) that minorities across the U.S. face (Pennington, 2021). The county comprises three major races- White (49.3%), Asian (19.9%), and Hispanic (16.4%). Furthermore, the poverty levels are at 6.0%. Therefore, disparities are expected.
According to Kompaniyets et al. (2021), underlying conditions, such as Asthma, cancer, cerebrovascular diseases, chronic kidney, lung, and liver conditions, Diabetes mellitus, cystic fibrosis, HIV/AIDS, and heart conditions, increase the risks of severe Coronavirus outcomes. Consequently, staying unvaccinated against the Coronavirus increases the risk of contracting the illness. Vaccines are a safer and more reliable way of building protection against viruses such as COVID-19 because they create an immune response to the virus (CDC, 2022). Coronavirus is transmitted by exposure to infectious respiratory fluids via inhalation, deposition, and touching contaminated surfaces. Therefore, staying near someone with COVID-19 or coming into contact with a contaminated surface, or in congested spaces increases the risk of Coronavirus transmission (Dehghani et al., 2021).
The potential to transmit the virus begins even before the development of symptoms and reduces as time goes by. Therefore, increased transmission and spread of the virus take place within the first 7 to 10 days of infection. In the case of a community outbreak, every individual must adhere to the set strategies for the outcomes to be mitigated. A study by Wen et al. (2021) concluded that older patients with underlying co-morbidities, such as hypertension, heart, and lung conditions, had poor Coronavirus outcomes. Underlying health conditions are mostly found in senior citizens with Fairfax County having the highest numbers at 9.8%.
Additionally, environmental conditions, like climate change and air pollution in Fairfax County, increased the risk of contracting coronavirus which is a respiratory infection. With air pollution, citizens are likely to develop respiratory conditions, such as asthma or bronchitis, which may further weaken the immunity responsible to fight off Coronavirus.
Impacts of the Outbreak on the Functioning of System Levels
The rapid spread and persistence of the Coronavirus pandemic forced the national, federal, and local governments to instill strict measures on both individuals and institutions. Being close to Washington D.C., where the first Coronavirus case in the U.S. was confirmed, Fairfax County had to introduce immediate measures to curtail the spread of the virus within its localities. For instance, two months after reporting the first case in the county (March 16, 2020), the Fairfax County Park Authority closed its recreational centers, parks, parking lots, and playgrounds.