Latest CDC risk map shows the number of Kentucky counties at high or medium risk of Covid-19 dropped 24% in the past week

Centers for Disease Control map, adapted by Ky. Health News

By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

The weekly pandemic risk map for Kentucky improved again Thursday, as the number of counties at elevated risk of Covid-19 dropped 24 percent. 

Only a few Kentucky counties moved into higher risk categories on the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention risk map. 

Robertson County rose to the high risk category, shown in orange, from a medium risk, shown in yellow. Neighboring Bracken, Mason, Harrison and Montgomery counties rose to medium risk.  

And while all high-risk counties on this week's map were in Appalachian Kentucky, reflecting its status as a national hotspot that is keeping Kentucky's overall infection rate second in the nation, many counties in the region and adjoining areas dropped to medium risk this week. 

The CDC rated 52 counties at low risk, shown in green, up 21 counties from the prior week. It rated 46 counties at medium risk, an increase of one, and 22 at high risk, down 23, more than half. 

In high-risk counties, the CDC recommends that you wear a well-fitting mask in public indoor spaces, and if you are at high risk of getting very sick, consider avoiding non-essential indoor activities in public where you could be exposed.

If you live in a medium or high-risk county, the CDC advises wearing a well-fitting mask when indoors and in public and to consider getting tested before having social contact with someone at high risk for getting very sick and consider wearing a mask when indoors when you are with them.

CDC map, adapted by Kentucky Health News

Mainly to guide health-care facilities, the CDC also publishes a transmission levels map that ranks the Covid-19 spread in each county in one of four levels, from low to high. None are rated at low community transmission this week. Carlisle and Todd counties have moderate transmission, 13 counties have substantial transmission and the rest have high transmission.

State officials say Kentuckians should use the risk map, which is based on new coronavirus cases, hospital admissions and hospital capacity, to guide their preventive measures.

The maps were released late Thursday. Gov. Andy Beshear said at his regular midday-Thursday press conference that Covid-19 cases appear to be declining in Kentucky, based on last week's maps and Monday's weekly report from the state Department for Public Health.

"We are at the very least in a plateau, if not in that decline," Beshear said, adding later, "We are probably a week away from being able to say that we are seeing less spread of Covid throughout the commonwealth." 

Asked if he agrees with President Biden's statement, aired Sunday, that the pandemic is over, Beshear said, "Obviously, if you look at the charts, Covid is still here." He also pointed to the World Health Organization's statement last week that the end of the pandemic is "in sight."  

But WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday, “We have spent two and a half years in a long, dark tunnel, and we are just beginning to glimpse the light at the end of that tunnel. It is still a long way off, and the tunnel is still dark with many obstacles that could trip us up if we don’t take care. We all need hope that we can – and we will – get to the end of the tunnel and put the pandemic behind us. But we’re not there yet.”

10 common misconceptions about cancer and the environment

With the advent of the internet, people are swamped with information about cancer and some of it is not based on "sound scientific evidence" or is "at best, anecdotal," which can "hamper efforts to prevent and treat" it, reports Curt DellaValle, a cancer epidemiologist and senior scientist at Environmental Working Group. He writes about some of the most common misconceptions about cancer:

Misconception #1: Getting cancer is almost completely out of your control: DellaValle recognizes that some cancers are caused by genetics and "bad luck" and notes that the World Health Organization reports that 20 percent of cancers are thought to be caused by environmental factors such as pollution, infections and radiation, but he also says "as many as half of cancers may be preventable," noting that smoking, poor diet and lack of exercise are major contributors.

Misconception #2: “Everything” causes cancer: "Not all chemicals, pollutants or guilty pleasures will lead to cancer," DellaValle writes, while also noting that the amount of exposure to the carcinogen plays a role. "The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a research arm of the WHO, has looked into nearly a thousand suspected causes of cancer. Of those suspicious substances and activities, they have concluded that just about half are known or potentially carcinogenic.

Misconception #3: Exposure to a known carcinogen will give you cancer: "Known carcinogens" are substances that have strong evidence that they can cause cancer, but  it is important to recognize that the risk between them differs. "A person exposed to a known carcinogen is not 100 percent certain to develop cancer, not by a long shot," DellaValle writes. For example, he writes that  there is a difference between asbestos exposure, a potent carcinogen, and eating processed meats, which is also a known carcinogen, but one that only modestly increases your chances of getting cancer.

Misconception #4: Natural products are safe and synthetic products are harmful: DellaValle writes that "arsenic, asbestos, formaldehyde, radiation and tobacco occur naturally and are known carcinogens." His advice is to "arm yourself with information" and "know what you're buying and don't assume everything that says 'natural' is harmless."

Misconception #5: Chemicals that the body absorbs and retains for a long time are more dangerous than those that are quickly excreted or metabolized: "The hazard of a substance is determined not just by the degree of exposure but also how it interacts with the body," he writes. For example, nitrates and nitrites in food and water can change into compounds that cause cancer in the body, while chemicals that are excreted quickly, like pesticides and heavy metals, can also cause cancer.

Misconception #6: The cancer risk you accumulate is irreversible: DellaValle writes that certain harmful exposures, like to radiation, does not allow full recovery, but damage from many environmental exposures can be partly reversed with elimination or significantly reducing the exposure. "The Surgeon General’s report on tobacco concluded that quitting smoking at any age reduces a smoker’s risk of cancer by up to 50 percent in just five to 10 years," he writes.

Misconception  #7: Mammograms cause breast cancer: "The risk with the very small amount of radiation emitted during a mammogram is minuscule for most patients," he writes. However, "women who are pregnant should avoid mammograms and X-rays that their doctors don’t consider necessary. Radiation could harm the developing fetus."

Misconception #8: Cell phones, wi-fi, microwaves, power lines and airport X-ray machines will cause cancer: DellaValle writes that cell phones, wi-fi, microwaves and power lines "emit non-ionizing radiation" and is less invasive than "ionizing radiation" that comes from  X-rays, sunlight and uranium. The WHO considers cell phone radiation a possible carcinogen "based on a suspected association between cell phone use and brain cancer,: DellaValle recommends holing your  phones a few millimeters away from your body to "drastically reduce exposure" or use hands-free devices and texting. He does say that it is a good idea to keep wireless routers a few feet from places where people spend long periods of time, though he notes that there is little or no evidence to support that wi-fi signals cause cancer. He also notes that it would take about 1,000 trips through an airport X-ray scanner to equal the radiation exposure from one medical chest X-ray.

Misconception #9: Artificial turf sports fields cause cancer: The jury is out on this one. DellaValle says, "No data exists at this time to say that artificial turf causes cancer, but scientists are just beginning to explore the question. In the meantime, you should play on artificial turf in well-ventilated areas, avoid hand-to-mouth contact while playing and limit direct contact between turf and skin."

Misconception #10: Residential pesticides are safe: DellaValle writes that many of the pesticides suspected to cause cancer in farm workers are being sold for residential use and notes that some evidence exists that they increase the risk of cancer. While recognizing that  homes would use these products less often and at a lower dose, he did caution to not use them around children or pregnant women. He noted that studies have found that children exposed to pesticides while in the womb and in infancy face an increased risk of childhood cancers like leukemia and brain tumors.

Swine flu killed nearly 300,000 worldwide, study finds

The swine flu of 2009, often referred to as H1NI, killed an estimated 284,500 people, making it 15 times more deadly than it was thought at the time of the pandemic, a new study has found. The report, published Tuesday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, said the numbers might be eventually be  as high as 579,000 people. The original count, tabulated by the World Health Organization, was a mere 18,500.

Those nearly 300,000 deaths were confirmed by lab testing, which the WHO warned vastly underestimated the situation "because the deaths of people without access to the health system go uncounted, and because the virus is not always detectable after a victim dies," reports Sharon Begley for Reuters. In Kentucky, the Department for Public Health reported there were 41 confirmed H1N1-related deaths, said spokeswoman Beth Fisher.

More than 50 percent of swine flu deaths were in Africa and southeast Asia, though they only account for 38 percent of the world's population. Because vital statistics data are either non-existent or incomplete in poorer countries, researchers had to rely on estimates and assumptions but did start with hard data, including the number of health workers who went door-to-door to ask about flu-like symptoms in rural areas and obtained nasal and throat swab samples. They used these numbers to get an estimate on the proportion of a country's population infected with H1N1. Results show the flu killed two to three times more people in Africa than elsewhere. It infected children most, adults moderately and the elderly hardly at all. (Read more)