In her September 21 report to the Marion Board of Health, Public Health Director/Nurse Lori Desmarais announced that Marion had 29 COVID-19 cases in August, and so far in September there have been 24.
Of the 24 September cases, 12 cases were active as of Tuesday’s BOH meeting. Of those 24, six positive cases were with vaccinated people. Of those 24, three are with school-aged children, but no numbers were available on exposures via close contact in school. As far as Desmarais knows, all close contacts for those three positive tests have been outside of school.
Board of Health Chair Dr. Ed Hoffer asked if all the positive cases are symptomatic. Desmarais answered in the affirmative but said they are not having a lot of symptoms. There are a few people who are displaying a lot of symptoms, but for the most part the symptoms are mild or moderate, according to Desmarais.
Desmarais also reported that Tabor Academy will conduct surveillance testing for COVID-19 through September, and Desmarais will touch base with the prep school after the period ends.
A flu shot clinic will be held on Thursday, September 30, from 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm at the Cushing Community Center in Marion. Enrollment is by appointment with Administrative Assistant Maureen Murphy, who will send applicants a link to register online. Desmarais told the board a press release was set to go out on September 21 and an email blast on September 22.
The clinic will be conducted by appointment for staffing purposes, “But if someone comes (in without an appointment), we can probably do that also,” said Desmarais, who will go out to administer flu vaccine to homebound residents.
The COVID-19 booster shot may be coming to Marion, Desmarais reported, noting a Pfizer-brand booster has been approved for ages 65 and over. Desmarais said she is waiting on word from the Food and Drug Administration regarding high-risk candidates over age 60. It is not known when the Pfizer booster shot will become available, but Desmarais said the town will be able to administer the vaccine in Marion.
Hoffer said that the latest data shows the Moderna vaccine seems to be better than the Pfizer, and that the antibody levels are approximately double. “Hopefully, the community will last a little longer before we get approval for a booster,” he said.
Board of Health member Dot Brown told the board she was asked for advice on a brand for a booster shot. “Nobody’s really tested the mixture,” she said.
“It’s purely speculation; nobody’s tested it. The one that nobody’s approved is the Johnson & Johnson,” said Hoffer.
The positive test for West Nile virus in a Marion mosquito was north of Route 195, and Plymouth County Mosquito Control sprayed the area on Monday. Desmarais advises residents to wear mosquito repellents and to avoid standing water, especially at dusk and dawn.
Brown wants to make sure that, in farming out the management of its septic-upgrade residences to Barnstable County, that the Town of Marion has a backup database, something she hopes would not be difficult to establish since every bit of Marion information that Barnstable County uploads into its system is received from Marion.
“That’s the information we provide, so we have that information,” said Brown. “I hope that … we will have a database of our own that we can connect. That’s why I wanted to make sure we have a procedure to have that exact same information.”
Desmarais reported that Marion has received the ability to access the information in the Barnstable County database that will work at no cost to Marion in an effort to study the south-facing coastline where it concerns the installation of denitrification technology. Barnstable County will look over newly installed I/A systems to ensure they meet the state’s standards.
Hoffer and fellow board member Dr. John Howard are confident in that scenario.
Desmarais told the board she has received a complaint about parents smoking at bus stops in town. She said regulations only address public buildings.
“I’m certainly sympathetic about second-hand smoke, [but] I’m not sure we have any regulatory power over outside smoking,” said Hoffer, who will collaborate with Desmarais on drafting a short announcement asking residents to “please respect others while waiting for the bus.”
The next meeting of the Marion Board of Health is scheduled for Tuesday, October 5, at 4:00 pm.
Marion Board of Health
By Mick Colageo