Tracie Carter, right, gets a COVID-19 test by Medical Assistant Dajah Loving at the Gary Health Department on Sept. 16, 2021. (John Smierciak/Post-Tribune)
Tracie Carter is “beyond blessed” to survive her bout with COVID-19.
Her 29-year-old son noticed she wasn’t looking well in May and told her to go to the hospital. She didn’t think anything of it. She was recovering from pneumonia and had other health issues including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic respiratory failure.
Then, struggling to breathe, it took her two hours to get out of her Glen Park house in Gary to get to the hospital. When she arrived, her oxygen levels were at 67%. Under 90% is concerning.
“My doctor told me if I didn’t come when I did, I would have probably died that night in my bed,” Carter, 50, a former chef, said.
As of Friday, Lake County has recorded 1,087 deaths due to the virus, according to the state. Porter County has had 341 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
The Methodist emergency room staff worked on her for two to three hours. She ended up hospitalized for a week. The first four days were “nonstop treatment” with a breathing machine and oxygen.
A pulmonologist later said eight of his last 10 COVID patients had died.
“For some reason I’m supposed to be here,” she said. “I’m OK with that.”
Carter was at the Gary Health Department Thursday for a rapid test required before another medical procedure. Luckily, it was a good result — negative.
Indiana announced recently it will help communities like Gary boost free COVID-19 testing again. A mobile testing site was in place at Gary Roosevelt High School for eight weeks in the spring. Nearly 285,000 Lake County residents have been tested since 2020.
Under the partnership, Gravity Diagnostics, a Kentucky-based company will provide staff and supplies needed to collect and analyze up to 5,000 COVID-19 tests per day, including rapid antigen and PCR tests, the state health department said.
The testing operation is expected to come together in a matter of weeks and have the ability to expand to up to 45 sites, if needed.
The new partnership will allow the state to offer testing in communities with higher need for longer periods, State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said in a statement Aug. 10. That will allow mobile units to continue to host shorter testing and vaccination clinics in other areas of the state, she added.
Testing sites will remain at designated locations for fixed periods of time to increase the availability of testing in communities that currently lack adequate testing resources.
The agreement also offers the option to provide voluntary testing in K-12 school settings statewide, although details are still being finalized. Under that provision, Gravity will coordinate with schools directly to determine their interest in testing.
The contract will run until June 30, 2022, with an option to extend.
Testing has “definitely increased” in the past two months, while Gary has about 40% fully vaccinated, and half with at least one dose of Pfizer or Moderna, Gary Health Commissioner Roland Walker said.
“We have to convince people that’s their best strategy,” Walker said, of vaccines and masks. “The virus is not going to stop until we get higher percentages of people vaccinated.”
The biggest obstacles are “hardened views,” he said.
Walker contracted COVID-19 last year. Both of his parents also had the virus, with his mother hospitalized for some time. She is gradually recovering, but is much better, he said.
More than 62,000 Lake County residents have tested positive for the virus while more than 21,000 have also in Porter County, according to the state.
“Some people are distrustful of experts and authority,” he said. “I just beg people, you don’t want to go through what I’ve experienced. I keep sharing and hoping and praying.”
Associated Press contributed.
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