Frequently Asked Questions

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COVID-19 FAQs

What Exactly is Coronavirus?

COVID-19 is a newly identified respiratory virus in the coronavirus family, but it is more severe and spreads easily. Diagnosis is difficult because it shares several symptoms with influenza. COVID-19 infection may appear two to 14 days after exposure and can include fever, cough, and shortness of break or difficulty breathing.

What Should I Do if I Have Symptoms of COVID-19?

If you are showing any sign of possible COVID-19 symptoms, please contact your local health care provider. Your provider or a nurse will direct you to our dedicated COVID-19 Nurse Line. If you meet testing criteria, you will be directed to one of our local testing sites.

Help us minimize potential exposure to other patients by not coming into a clinic or hospital to be tested. Please call your local provider first to find out how to be evaluated. Our Urgent Care and Walmart Clinics are open and available, but we ask that you call ahead if you believe to have these symptoms.

How is COVID-19 Transmitted?

COVID-19 is thought to spread similarly to influenza. That is, it spreads person to person through respiratory droplets from an infected person’s cough or sneeze. These droplets can land on surfaces within about 6 feet and can spread to other people after they contact these infected surfaces with their hands and subsequently touch their face.

Can I Catch COVID-19 from Contact with an Object Rather Than a Person?

Yes, you can catch COVID-19 from an object if the surface of that object has live virus on it. How long the virus can live outside an organism is unknown. Expert estimates range from a few hours to up to nine days, depending on the type of surface, surrounding temperature and environment.

What is Medical Center Health System doing to Ensure Patient Safety?

Medical Center Health System takes patient and staff safety seriously. We have detailed and thorough plans for patient care and protecting staff. Medical Center Health System staff at all locations have been trained and are prepared to care for patients with serious infections like COVID-19. We stand ready to assist our patients, visitors and employees.

Should I be Concerned if Medical Center Health System is Treating COVID-19 Patients and/or Should I Cancel my Appointment at Medical Clinic Health System?

No. We will treat patients with a suspected infectious disease with an abundance of caution. Medical Center Health System is dedicated to be a safe and reliable partner in helping you manage your health. It is safe to come to Medical Center Health System.

Can a Person have COVID-19 Without Having any Symptoms?

Yes.

Is Medical Center Health System Prepared to Handle these COVID-19 Cases?

Yes, Medical Center Health System is prepared to treat patients with COVID-19 and will treat patients as part of a community wide plan in coordination with public health authorities.

How is a Patient Accessed for COVID-19?

The basic premise of preventing disease transmission is to identify patients who show symptoms, isolate those patients from others for appropriate assessment, and inform appropriate staff and authorities for further response. If people appear with symptoms, they will be asked to wear a mask and answer a series of questions about their health and travel. Based on their answers and vital signs, they will be isolated from other patients while COVID-19 test results can be verified. This may take several days.

Patients who test positive for COVID-19 are isolated and treated. Currently, there is no antiviral treatment for COVID-19. Specific interventions are taken in more severe cases, or with patients with compromised immune systems or complex illnesses.

What Can I do to Avoid COVID-19?

To avoid COVID-19, you should:

Keep your hands clean.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
Cover your cough and sneezes to keep germs from spreading to others.
Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces routinely.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Stay home when you are sick.

Should I Wear a Facemask?

Regarding whether you should wear a face mask, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides this guidance:

CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. You should only wear a mask if a healthcare professional recommends it. A facemask should be used by people who have COVID-19 and are showing symptoms. This is to protect others from the risk of getting infected. The use of facemasks also is crucial for health workers and other people who are taking care of someone infected with COVID-19 in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).

How Will I Know if there are Cases of COVID-19 in my Community?

Local departments of public health and the CDC are responsible for publicly reporting COVID-19 cases.

Medical Center Health System is committed to the privacy of its patients and complies with all applicable laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. As always, Medical Center Health System does not share patient-specific information with the media without prior authorization. Also, Medical Center Health System collaborates with public health authorities, including the CDC and local public health authorities, as appropriate. These authorities are best positioned to provide public health information.

About this Q&A:

Many of these answers reference statements and standards already communicated by the CDC, the definitive source for prevention and procedure for infectious diseases in the U.S.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine

Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine

Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines

How do I Know it's Safe?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA) for two COVID-19 vaccines which have been shown to be safe and effective as determined by data from the manufacturers and findings from large clinical trials. These data demonstrate that the known and potential benefits of this vaccine outweigh the known and potential harms of becoming infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19).

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are being conducted to evaluate additional COVID-19 vaccines in many thousands of study participants. These trials will generate scientific data and other information that will be used by FDA to determine vaccine safety and effectiveness. Clinical trials on all COVID-19 vaccine candidates are being conducted according to the rigorous standards set forth by FDA in their June 2020 guidance document, Development and Licensure of Vaccines to Prevent COVID-19 external icon. If FDA determines that a vaccine meets its safety and effectiveness standards, it can make these vaccines available for use in the United States by approval or through an EUA.

After FDA determines that a COVID-19 vaccine candidate is safe and effective, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a committee comprising medical and public health experts, reviews available data before making vaccine recommendations to CDC. Learn more about how CDC is making COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.

Vaccine Safety Monitoring

After a vaccine is authorized or approved for use, many vaccine safety monitoring systems watch for adverse events (possible side effects). This continued monitoring can pick up on adverse events that may not have been seen in clinical trials. If an unexpected adverse event is seen, experts quickly study it further to assess whether it is a true safety concern. Experts then decide whether changes are needed in U.S. vaccine recommendations. This monitoring is critical to help ensure that the benefits continue to outweigh the risks for people who receive vaccines.

FDA’s June 2020 guidance document also includes important recommendations for ongoing safety evaluation after any COVID-19 vaccine is made available in the United States.

CDC has expanded safety surveillance through new systems and additional information sources, as well as by scaling up existing safety monitoring systems.