Task Force discusses rewinding to pandemic basics
At the Aug. 9 meeting of the Pine Island COVID-19 Task Force, the group discussed redistributing the bilingual “Did you know?” flyers that were passed out at this year’s MangoMania Event.
Task Force member Dr. Daniel Hanley was asked whether or not there could be a vaccination site assigned to Pine Island Methodist Church when food is being distributed there, to which he said, if there at least 10 people who would like to be vaccinated, he would make that happen, as he has plenty of vaccines on hand.
“Vaccines are always free,” said Hanley. “No one is paying for these at all. Even testing is free at our clinic, because it has a medical diagnosis attached to it. The problem is people want the rapid testing and they have no symptoms. From our standpoint, they should not have to pay for anything COVID related, insurance or not. They don’t even have to be our patients. They can just come in, get tested and call it a day.”
Because of the lack of interest in the last two vaccination clinics set up at the Beacon of Hope, it was decided that the Task Force would refer islanders wanting COVID vaccinations to Hanley’s Ancuram Clinic in Bokeelia, or to CVS.
Another topic of discussion was the Task Force’s appeal to local businesses to post a flyer asking the public to wear a mask while on the premises. Hanley said, while he believes COVID is here to stay, he also believes the numbers will decline once again. The focus, he said, should be more of an effort on changing the culture to a more mask-accepting environment, since this method has proven useful throughout history. He maintains that people want the right to make their own decisions.
“People are all about freedom,” Hanley said. “Freedom of choice … those people I’m trying to reach out to — I want to give them time to process the information. I wouldn’t ask for more than handwashing, physical distancing, that kind of proactive approach won’t truly go away, at least for the foreseeable future. It could be another year or another two years.”
Fellow Task Force member Martha Huard suggested coming from a position of concern for public safety so people aren’t laboring under the misconception that they are being forced to do something without a good reason.
“We’re doing this because we care about our neighbors,” said Huard of the request to return to wearing face masks.
“The reality now is most of the people who want to, have been vaccinated,” said member Sue Dahod. “The mask requirement is really for those who can’t get vaccinated, for those that are very susceptible to getting sick, or for children. To me, the message of doing it for your neighbor is the message.”
Hanley said because of an influx of misinformation, it’s little wonder the public is often confused about the effectiveness of protection regarding wearing a face mask. When the pandemic began, said Hanley, the message about not wearing a mask was due to a lack of supplies.
Dahod pointed out that in April 2020, there had not yet been enough studies done to know the virus is air born, which likely led to the conclusion that wearing face masks was not as important as we have learned it to be.
“In a very simplistic approach, any mask is better than no mask,” said Jim McLaughlin, regarding the response of some who cannot afford or do not have access to an N95 face mask and assume since all they can afford is a cloth mask, they might as well not wear one at all.
“Maybe part of our job is to educate on the why, when, where, how,” said Hanley of wearing a mask to control the spread of COVID. “People talk a lot about positive testing rates. Generally speaking, our goal, to control the pandemic, is to try to get a positive rate of less then 5 percent. One of the main reasons everyone is concerned right now about the Delta variant is because the positive rate is independent of how many tests are being done. The positive rate is over 20 percent in Lee County … Maybe we can clarify the guidelines that the CDC is trying to convey, not only for the vaccinated but for the unvaccinated, as far as risk.”
Wearing a mask becomes more optional, he said, if the positivity rate gets down to 10 percent or less and at 5 percent, there is no longer a reason for everyone to wear masks.
To reach PAULETTE LeBLANC, please email pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com