Shots, slots and white beans: Local events designed to boost St. Mary's health

When St. Mary Parish Hospital Service District No. 2's board met May 5, physician and Chairman William Cefalu Jr. proposed a community COVID vaccination event to combat St. Mary's low immunization rate.

"If you could see what I see, you'd go running for a vaccine," Cefalu said.

The event became reality Saturday, when Ochsner St. Mary's Health Fair offered not just COVID vaccine but basic health screenings and information about hospital programs. After the Ochsner Health Fair ended, the St. Mary Parish Health Unit and the Louisiana National Guard teamed up to offer vaccinations at the Amelia Belle Casino.

The Ochsner event took a couple of months, including one rain delay, to make happen. But the problem persists: St. Mary is below the Louisiana average for vaccinations, and Louisiana ranks in the bottom five among states.

Saturday's news from the LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine added some urgency. The school's Precision Medicine Laboratory confirmed the first case of the COVID-19 Delta variant in the public health region that includes New Orleans.

The Delta variant was held partly responsible for India's lethal upsurge in COVID deaths this spring. Saturday's LSU press release said the Centers for Disease Control declared Delta a "variant of concern." Delta is reputed to be more easily transmissible and may hamper the body's ability to develop antibodies.

“Although we suspected that the variant has been circulating in our area for some time now," said team leader Dr. Lucio Miele in the press release, "having confirmation should encourage people to get vaccinated as soon as possible so they can be fully protected."

Fewer than 28% of St. Mary's adults have completed their vaccination series, according to the Louisiana Office of Public Health dashboard.

Vaccine hesitancy has been blamed on concern about the rush-to-market federal approval of the vaccine and the feeling that the danger from COVID has been exaggerated. But among the people who came out for screenings or shots Saturday, the reasons were more complicated than that.

Harry and Doylene Porter of Morgan City emerged from the Ochsner St. Mary health screenings, but didn't get shots, to look at the informational tables set up by hospital departments.
He had been vaccinated before the fair. Despite his urging, she didn't get the shot. She has had serious reactions to medications in the past.

"It just scares me," Doylene Porter said.

Later, on the third floor of the Amelia Belle, Michele Ashley sat down to get her vaccination from National Guard Spec. Malik Bodifor.

She hadn't gotten the vaccine before because "I just don't like shots. Other than that, it doesn't bother me. I just don't like needles."

But Saturday's shot went smoothly.

Bodifor "made it enjoyable," Ashley said. "He made me laugh."

Back at Ochsner St. Mary, Cefalu said he's hopeful about the ability to reach St. Mary people with vaccine.

"I'm optimistic that the pragmatic nature of our community will shine through," Cefalu said.

Reactions to vaccinations are mild, Cefalu said.

The biggest reason to get the shot: People who get vaccinated don't die of COVID, he said.

Cefalu was walking along the information tables with Ochsner St. Mary CEO Fernis LeBlanc, who thanked the hospital district for the partnership that resulted in Saturday's health fair.

Morgan City officials pitched in, too. Mayor Lee Dragna and Council Lou Tamporello were among those on hand, and a Morgan City fire truck hoisted a big American flag over the event. White beans and fried catfish were served to health fair participants.

Expect more Ochsner St. Mary community health events, LeBlanc said.

Ochsner Health System is launching an initiative called 40 before 30. The goal is to raise Louisiana's public health from near the bottom of the states to at least No. 40 by 2030.