Please join the fight to eradicate covid

To The Eagle:

The fact that the Covid-19 vaccine saves lives is indisputable. The fact that the Covid-19 vaccine significantly reduces Covid-19 illness severity and hospital admissions is indisputable. The fact that over 99.5 percent of new Covid-19 cases are occurring in the non-Covid-19 vaccinated population is indisputable. The fact that getting a Covid-19 vaccine in Pacific County is easy to do is – you guessed it – indisputable. In conjunction with the Pacific County Health Department, the Cowlitz Family Health North Beach Clinic, and the Peninsula Pharmacy, Ocean Beach Hospital and Medical Clinic has given over 14,000 Covid-19 vaccine injections to South Pacific County residents 12 years of age and older.

The mission of OBHMC is to “Provide Compassionate, Patient Focused Care for our Community!” Your local hospital has been here during the Covid-19 pandemic providing emergent care to all-comers as it has for the last 87 years. And while the pandemic has affected the lives of everyone in our community, it has put extra pressure on the hospital’s staff - that are rightfully concerned about the Covid-19 status of patients arrive emergently or otherwise. We all owe it to each other to make the hospital and community as safe as possible – and you can do your part by getting the Covid-19 vaccine (and thank you if you have already) and otherwise continuing to practice good Covid-19 hygiene that includes masking, social distancing, and rigorous hand hygiene.

This is not a political issue; it is a public health issue! All of the OBHMC providers have urged their patients to get the Covid-19 vaccine – just as they do for flu, or pneuomonia, or tetanus, or shingles. The Pacific County Health Department maintains a list of locations and times where you can get the Covid-19 vaccine – you can see this list at Pacific County Public Health & Human Services Covid-19 News & Resources - Home (pacificcountycovid19.com) or call 360-642-6308.

Get a vaccine!

The most unselfish and kindest thing you can do for your family, friends and community is to get the Covid-19 vaccine. So, if you have not already, please join the fight to eradicate Covid-19 as a public health challenge in our community – so we can get our lives back to normal and actively enjoy the wonderful opportunities given to us by living in SW Washington.

Kindest regards,

Larry Cohen

CEO, OBHMC