Board of Health

BOH MEETING MINUTES 01-11-2021 Attending via TEAMS Conference Call Call # 1 617-433-9462, Conference ID: 507 935 122# Joseph Tennyson, MD, Chair Jim Griffin, Vice-Chair Robin Williams, Member Also in attendance: Director John Garside and Clerk Tina Nolin Meeting called to order 6:30 pm Reading and Approval of Minutes • Minutes for December 7, 2020 meeting: Chairman Tennyson motioned to approve the minutes and place on file, Vice-Chair Griffin seconded the motion, Board roll call vote was 3-0 to approve the motion. New Business • Discussion & Update of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Director Garside updated the Board on the recent activities of the Health Department regarding COVID-19. - Since last January, the total cases to date in the city are 3339; of that, 2887 people have recovered, and 86 have passed. As of an hour ago, we have 345 active cases. We had 23 new cases today. - Similar to last month, 82% of our cases continue to be below the age of 60, and 70% are below the age of 50. - We currently have a positivity rate of 9.7%, while the State’s positivity is 7.71%. - Looking at where cases are in the city, we currently have a wider distribution throughout the city than we saw earlier in the pandemic. While we continue to see a higher number of cases in our areas with higher housing density (along Route 20, French Hill area, and some of our other housing developments), we are now seeing more cases in the city’s suburban areas. - We currently have a total of 17 cases spread over our long-term care facilities. COVID-19 vaccines have been given at both Marlborough Hills and the Reservoir. Bouvier Pharmacy is scheduled to provide vaccinations at New Horizons on January 13th and 14th and Marie Esther on the 15th. St Chretienne is scheduled for vaccinations from Walgreens on January 18th. CVS will be at Christopher Heights on the 31st of January. - Director Garside presented a breakdown of cases by ethnicity, which showed, like with many diseases, that COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting our minority and under-served populations. 40.2% of the city’s cases are Hispanic, and 40.6% are white, non-Hispanic. According to the most current census data (2019) for the city, these groups make up 15% and 75 % of our  Board of Health Minutes January 11, 2021 p2 of the city’s population, respectively. However, director Garside expressed some reservations concerning the census data, citing it’s possible that some undocumented folks are not being reported and thus skew the census data. - Director Garside reported that the department would continue to reach many of these populations through the COVID-19 Ambassadors. We hope that as we move into the different vaccine phases, we will be able to get vaccines out to serve these groups by setting up clinics in neighborhoods. Unfortunately, we are not there yet due to Massachusetts’ phased vaccine rollout and vaccine supply. - Director Garside updated the Board on the COVID-19 numbers at the Marlborough Public Schools (MPS). Marlborough High School is planning to go hybrid on January 19th, as is Assabet Valley Technical Highschool. Grades K-2nd, ESL, and special needs children at all levels continue to come into Marlborough Public Schools for in-person classes. AMSA remains remote, as they expect to be until the end of the year. Director’s Update - Our first COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic for First Responders at Marlborough High School will be on January 14th and January 15th. The clinic will include both Marlborough and Hudson First Responders. Marlborough Hospital is also vaccinating First Responders. The Hospital is also doing First Responder clinics and started last week, after vaccinating their Hospital staff. - Bouvier pharmacy has been vaccinating some congregate-care facilities, including some assisted living facilities. In addition, CareWell is doing some smaller weekly clinics. AFC has also expressed interest in participating in vaccinations. The office has started a list of vaccine providers so that as the phases roll out and people call the office, we can best direct them to those providers and clinics. - We have been reaching out to our congregate-care facilities and our low-income residential senior housing to see if they have a plan in place for helping residents get vaccinated or whether they need assistance developing a plan. - We have started to use the Contact Tracing Collaborative (CTC) more regularly during this surge, given the numbers we’re seeing and current staffing limitations. Additionally, we have redirected staff to focus on vaccination planning. Director Garside reported on the resignation of the Public Health Nurse and that we would be posting the position soon.  Board of Health Minutes January 11, 2021 p3 ADJOURN Vice-chairman Griffin motioned to adjourn the meeting at 6:52 pm; Chairman Tennyson seconded the motion; the roll call vote was 3-0 in favor to adjourn. The next meeting of the Board will be on February 1st at 6:30 pm. Attendance will continue to be remote via Teams meeting. Respectfully submitted, 2/1/2021 Dr. Joseph Tennyson Dated Cc: Board of Health Members City Council, City Clerk, and City of Marlborough Website