Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Part of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) update, during Monday’s virtual news conference on federal support and assistance for the territory during the COVID-19 community surge included a look at the process involved when a person tests positive and therapeutic treatment is given to that individual.

FEMA Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) leader, Allison Pfaendler provided the update from the federal response team as the news conference was also streamed lived on KVZK-TV Facebook page giving the public an inside look at the test site, at the Health Department’s Tafuna Community Health Center.

Residents who watched the live stream later told Samoa News that they were glad and pleased that FEMA shared such information “giving the public” an idea of the process involved.

The presentation is “sort of an encouragement” for people to get tested and treated if positive and the FEMA presentation gives “us an idea of how long it takes to go through the treatment process,” said a man, who has worked in ASG for many years.

During the FEMA presentation, Pfaendler said she visited the Tafuna site last week and watched patients go through the testing and treatment process. And she walked viewers “through the day and life of a patient” at this site. And her presentation showed photos of a female patient, who received the “oral antiviral pill” treatment after testing positive.

Test results for the woman were reviewed by medical personnel — including those from the federal team embedded at the test site. 

In that review, they discussed the options for her and prescribed the oral antiviral for her. The process for the woman was roughly a one-hour treatment, Pfaendler explained and noted that the woman returned home to take three pills, twice a day for five days.

The other treatment option shared by Pfaendler is the Intravenous Infusion — or IV therapeutic for a man who also tested positive. The individual was offered various treatment options and he chose the IV therapeutic treatment. And the whole process, involving the man, was roughly two and half hours.

“Most people, when they test positive, feel better in one to two days after starting the treatment — whether that’s pills or IV treatments,” Pfaendler explained. “So that’s a really quick turn around of feeling better.”

She also said that DoH staff makes calls to those who receive treatment to check if they are feeling better in the 24 to 48-hour window. She noted that depending on the treatment given to the positive case, it could take an hour to two and half hours to complete the treatment process.

Pfaendler encouraged the community to get tested, as well as getting fully vaccinated and boosted. “This is the best way to protect yourself from getting a severe case of COVID-19. There’s plenty of vaccines. So do it now, especially if you’re older, overweight or have other existing health conditions,” she said.

“We don’t know how many more cases there will be, how long this [surge] will last, or how many people will wind up in the hospital. But we do know that the federal partners here will work along side the people of American Samoa during this public health emergency to support those of you, who do end up in the hospital and do require therapeutic treatment,” she said.

According to the FEMA official, the federal team — dispatched to American Samoa, has been working with LBJ Medical Center “to enhance the territory’s ability to care for severe cases of COVID, including our new team on board” supporting the federal health and medical task force that arrived on island more than a week ago.

And the FEMA team is providing training and assistance in delivering care at the hospital.

She pointed out that FEMA staff and the federal team continue to coordinate federal support with American Samoa counterparts to include bringing in 27,000 rapid test kits last Saturday as well as more than 1,700 therapeutics and cardiac monitors. These supplies make it possible for clinics in Leone, Amouli, Tafuna and LBJ to run smoothly.

For the LBJ update, acting chief of staff Dr. Akapusi Ladua said the hospital is expecting to get 48 medical personnel from Washington state-based NuWest Group Staffing Agency, “who will be arriving, hopefully in the next coming days to be able to provide support for us, when we need them during this surge.”

He acknowledged help from FEMA with the new medical team and that LBJ received equipment and supplies from federal partners and therapeutic treatment from Palau.