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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20211101 - Board of Health - Meeting MinutesHEALTH DEPARTMENT Town of Hopkinton, Massachusetts Monday, November 1, 2021 MINUTES Members Present:Elizabeth “Lisa” Whittemore, Dr.Richard Jacobs Also Present:Shaun McAuliffe, Health Director; Simone Carter, Public Health Nurse Absent:Regina Miloslavsky Late Arrival(s): Early Dismissal: The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Chairman Whittemore. Ms. LaRoche announced the “Script for Remotely Conducted Open Meetings” guidelines. Members and participants role call for attendance: Elizabeth “Lisa” Whittemore-Yes Dr. Richard Jacobs-Yes Shaun McAuliffe-Yes Simone Carter-Yes Public Comment-Members of the community are invited to share ideas, state opinions or ask questions Request to Approve Meeting Minutes of October 18, 2021 Ms. LaRoche requested the Board’s approval for the meeting minutes of October 18, 2021. Vice Chairman Jacobs motioned to approve the meeting minutes of October 18, 2021. Chairman Whittemore seconded. Roll Call: Chairman Whittemore-Yes, Vice Chairman Jacobs-Yes. Discussion of High School Off-Ramping and Vote of Support for Health Director Mr. McAuliffe informed the Board of the School Committee’s 3 to 2 vote to lift the mask mandate for students (which is called off-ramping) starting today, November 1st thru November 22nd and to reassess at that point where they stand in terms of Covid infection(s), if any. He informed the Board that meeting with the School Committee or School Superintendent at the latter part of the off-ramping trial would be beneficial and will try to request an audience with either or. Mr. McAuliffe requested the Board to support the Health Director’s position of requiring face coverings to be used, waiting until the holiday season has passed and to consider off-ramping after January 1, 2022. He informed the Board that right now the flu and RSV is in full swing. Sports and holiday venues are being moved indoors. The risk of getting infected with Covid is very high. Vice Chairman Jacobs noted that the vote of the Board to determine support of the Health Director was not possible at the last board meeting because it was not on the Board of Health’s agenda. That is why it is for discussion and vote today. BOH November 1, 2021-MEETING Minutes Page 1 Approved on November 15, 2021 Chairman Whittemore motioned that the Hopkinton Health Department has worked hard to achieve the high vaccination rate reported and that the department and the Board believe it would be better to off-ramp after the new year. Vice Chairman Jacobs seconded. All in favor: Chairman Whittemore-Yes, Vice Chairman Jacobs-Yes. Unanimous vote. Update on Director’s Schedule Mr. McAuliffe informed the Board that he has been recruited to serve on a Federal Grand Jury and is currently on standby status. He is due to call everyday at 5pm and will be notified if he is selected. This process will be completed on November 19, 2021. He also advised the Board that he will be taking a few days off around Christmas time and noted that he will keep the Board notified of any updates. Coronavirus Update & Director’s Report Mr. McAuliffe updated and informed the Board of the following items: Public Health Nurse / Programming - A.The Department would like to thank Haley Ferrin, our latest intern from Worcester State’s nursing program, for assisting Simone and Kacey with our Senior Center Booster Clinic. They ran a successful flu and Pfizer vaccination clinic on 10/28/21. B.The Public Health Nurses have been providing homebound boosters and vaccinations. C.The Public Health Nurses are hosting a Pfizer booster clinic on November 5, 2021 at the Middle School. The clinic will provide Pfizer boosters and a limited number of flu shots for the Hopkinton teachers. D.The Public Health and School Nurses are hosting a Pfizer first dose clinic for the 5-11 year olds at the Marathon School gymnasium on November 11, 2021. Vaping/Tobacco – The 3-Tiered program is underway at the School District. We have been experiencing a low percentage of parent participation and are evaluating how we can improve those numbers. MRC / Clinic Activity –Last week I attended a Region 4A MRC meeting to discuss the future of the Group. The attendees recognized a need to educate the membership, set annual and long term goals and establish a system of verification. Representatives of the MDPH will be working with us. Grants - The Department is exploring additional funding opportunities to offset the costs of clinic operation. Where the Department has yet to be compensated for the previous COVID-19 vaccination clinics, we will be utilizing other grant monies to cover the overtime expenses. Ticks - We will be working with the Trails Group to secure additional trail boxes for our Tick Brochures and Tick Identification cards. Where the UMASS Tick Lab is now a privately operated company, we are assessing whether the Commonwealth is continuing to fund tick testing for the residents of Hopkinton. EEE/WNV - The Department is working with the Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project to monitor the WNV issue in the area. In 2021, we haven’t seen WNV in Hopkinton. Operational Summary - I intend to operate the MAHB conference in Taunton on November 17. Bryan and Nidia continue to manage day to day operations as Simone and I schedule and prepare for the upcoming vaccination clinics. Mr. McAuliffe announced that the Department has not been compensated (COVID Vaccines) as contracted with the Federal and State Governments. To complicate matters, under FEMA, the compensation is only for entities & individuals not for Municipalities. The State is working with FEMA to try to resolve this issue and have our department reimbursed so we may continue offering the clinics to the public. Mr. McAuliffe also noted that he has contacted our Senators to assist in resolving this matter. BOH November 1, 2021-MEETING Minutes Page 2 Approved on November 15, 2021 Mr. McAuliffe also briefed the Board that a discussion took place with Region 4A personnel and discovered that many of the new MRC volunteers don’t fully understand how the MRC works or what is credentially required to become a member. He said that they are working with DPH in organizing, educating and streamlining the process for faster enrollment and education. The total number of volunteers at this moment is approximately 13 individuals. The majority being Hopkinton residents. Mr. McAuliffe advised the Board that he was invited to the Pfos meeting by DEP and that the Town has 30 days to deliver a short term plan and 60 days to enact a long term procedure. All of the required departments are organizing and will be presenting a solution soon which will be published to the community. COVID-19 - The MDPH has reported 238 new cases to the Department since 08/01/21. 26 of the cases are active. Our two week positivity rate had decreased to 1.34 but had increased to 2.21, where it has been for the last two weeks. Our average case per day is at 2.58, above last week’s number of 2.53. Our 2-week case count dipped slightly from 46 cases to 42. The bulk of our cases over the last week are in the 50-64 year old age group. Common sources of illness include travel, gatherings and work-related exposures. We appear to have stopped the spread from two of our recent school clusters. As of this morning, we are monitoring at least two new clusters in Hopkinton children. It should be noted that Southborough/Northborough placed the fifth grade into remote status today. Through our clinic and local efforts, we continue to see a significant increase in our vaccination rates. The MIIS database reports that 13,772 of our residents are fully vaccinated. 1,578 are reported to have received their first shot. This is an improvement of approximately 225 since our last meeting. We are in the process of providing Pfizer boosters and are planning Pfizer clinics for 5-11 year olds, Pfizer boosters for Hopkinton teachers and Moderna booster clinics for our first responders, DPW employees and other eligible front line staff. Simone Carter is invited to elaborate if she is present. Nurse Carter stated that the department has conducted the following clinics: ●2 Drive Thru’s at the Center School for Covid Booster (Pfizer), Flu, 65+ Flu and Child Flu ●1 at the Senior Center for Covid Booster (Pfizer) and Flu ●Steady stream of Homebound individuals-continues Upcoming Clinics are the following: ●Hopkinton School Teachers Only for Covid Booster (Pfizer) on Friday, November 5th ●Hopkinton Students Only for Covid Booster (Pfizer) on Thursday, November 11th The department has received the ancillary kits for the Kiddy doses and have the volunteers in place for the November 11th clinic. The department has ordered the Moderna booster. The Board thanked Nurse Carter for the update. BOH November 1, 2021-MEETING Minutes Page 3 Approved on November 15, 2021 Mr. McAuliffe proceed to update the Board of the following MDPH reports: Town Age Group Population Proportion of town population Individuals with at least one dose Individuals with at least one dose per capita Fully vaccinated individuals Fully vaccinated individuals per capita Hopkinton 12-15 Years 1,116 7%1,206 >95%1,109 >95% Hopkinton 16-19 Years 987 6%1,112 >95%1,045 >95% Hopkinton 20-29 Years 1,635 10%1,479 90%1,372 84% Hopkinton 30-49 Years 3,987 24%4,508 >95%4,188 >95% Hopkinton 50-64 Years 4,065 25%3,984 >95%3,726 92% Hopkinton 65-74 Years 1,426 9%1,514 >95%1,384 >95% Hopkinton 75+ Years 643 4%873 >95%768 >95% Hopkinton Total 16,382 100%14,676 90%13,592 83% We continue to communicate with the MDPH and participate in the weekly conference calls. We are encouraging our residents to utilize the local testing locations that have partnered with the Broad Institute in Cambridge. These locations tend to have a 12-hour turnaround on testing. We continue to work closely with Golden Pond and Fairview Estates. We have assisted them in obtaining vaccinations for their newest residents and testing when warranted. We continue to support the efforts of the School District and other municipal offices. ADJOURN: Chairman Whittemore motioned to adjourn the Board of Health Meeting at 6:20 p.m. Vice Chairman Jacobs seconded. Role Call: Chairman Whittemore-Yes, Vice Chairman Jacobs-Yes. Respectfully Submitted, Nidia LaRoche Administrative Assistant BOH November 1, 2021-MEETING Minutes Page 4 Approved on November 15, 2021