Pembroke: Hurry up and wait, vaccines are coming

Wicked Local Northwest (Concord, MA)

Feb. 5—Patience. Persistence. And, oh yes, patience.

Pembroke, like all communities, is largely in a hurry up and wait mode when it comes to vaccine distribution. Related stories address the topic from a wider point of view. Last week, members of Pembroke's Emergency Management team held a COVID Forum on PACTV to discuss the latest insights locally.

PACTV's Donna Rodriguez moderated the discussion, which featured Assistant Town Manager Sabrina Chilcott, Fire Chief Ken McCormick, Health Agent Lisa Cullity, and Police Lt. Wendy LaPierre.

The good news Cullity reported is that Pembroke's infection rate is declining.

"Our case data is trending down, which is great news," she said. "We did surge after the holidays. Unfortunately, people gathered, and I understand why they do that, but we saw a case rise as a result of that."

Indeed, according to the town's website, which Cullity's Health Department updates daily, Pembroke saw 360 positive cases of Covid-19 in December, and 461 in January. But 289 of the latter number were reported between Jan. 1 and Jan. 16. Jan. 17-Jan. 31 saw 172 cases. The first half of January was in double-digits daily but for one; the second half had five double-digit days.

"Small, intimate gatherings are where we're seeing the spread of the disease — seeing an old friend, being with family, Cullity said. "The latest state information showed 45% of cases were from close contact with friends and family."

Medical professionals are making huge strides in therapies, she added, with fewer people going on ventilators. "We are still losing residents, unfortunately; I'm not at liberty to discuss who or how many people, but we are still losing people to COVID-19. Usually these people are still older and still have comorbidities. There are some people without these mitigating factors getting quite sick. Overall, it would seem the lethality of the disease is dropping, which is great. I think the virus is weakening a little bit, and I think our medical treatments are getting so much more effective."

Chilcott wanted the public to be aware of the town's revised website.

"We converted the website to a more user friendly platform," she said. "An amazing amount of info can be found easily."

The town's COVID information can be found here: www.pembroke-ma.gov — just click in the red bar: "COVID-19 Vaccination Information Read more."

Mindful that not everyone is online, Chilcott stressed that residents are welcome to call Town Hall or the Council on Aging for assistance and information. To meet with a Town Hall official, call 781-709-1400 to make an appointment while Town Hall remains closed to walk-in traffic. Seniors can call the COA at 781-294-8220.

Chilcott said that as soon as Gov. Baker announced state resident priority changes for phase 2, which began Feb. 1, the phones started ringing. Phase 2 of vaccination distribution began Feb. 1 with 75-year-olds. Those aged 65 and older will follow.

She noted that 1,678 Pembroke residents are over 75. As to 65-plus? "Upwards of 3,705 people will be coming right along behind the first 1,600. Gretchen Emmet at the COA is doing a great job helping seniors who need assistance."

Chilcott said that as Emmett and her staff at the COA get information from seniors requesting assistance, a team is ready to work in the background to help make appointments.

"Vaccination is like the hottest concert ticket that ever came out," Cullity said. "The demand is enormous."

She noted that Pembroke and Duxbury were trying to accommodate seniors locally, depending on whether they could get vaccine, and that she hoped to know that with a couple of weeks. The Health Department would send out a link to a signup site.

Cullity emphasized that appointments fill quickly, because of limited vaccine supply, but that is changing. She said new vaccination centers are coming online daily. She urged residents consider making appointments through the state website or with reputable sites such as CVS and Walgreens.

"Stick with the sites and vendors listed on the state website," she said. "You'll know they are legitimate sites."

Vaccination information can be found at these sites.

https://www.mass.gov/covid-19-vaccine

https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine

https://www.walgreens.com/

https://stopandshop.com/pages/ss-pharmacy

"You don't want to deal with ticket scalpers," she said. "There's no ticket scalper out there that has a real ticket."

And, Cullity added, don't give out any personal financial information to anyone. Sites will collect insurance information, which she said covers administrative fees, but that the vaccine itself has no out of pocket cost to the public — the federal government is paying for it.

Lt. LaPierre concurred. She said the Police Department wants residents to be mindful of opening scam emails.

"We've seen scammers are buying ads and offering to sell vaccines to internet users," she said. "We believe their goal is to obtain credit card information. We think these people are preying on people who are anxious and vulnerable during this time."

LaPierre noted that the department was receiving 911 calls. "We ask people if they are experiencing COVID-like symptoms," she said. "We'll answer questions or refer them to mass.gov or refer them to the Council on Aging to answer questions more appropriately."

Chief McCormick stressed that residents should not hesitate to call 911 if experiencing symptoms.

"In the beginning people weren't calling because they didn't know what the virus was," he said. "They were unsure. They didn't want to go to the hospital; they didn't want to be put on ventilators. There's no reason to stay home if you're not feeling well. Just call us. I tell everyone just to call. There is no stupid 911 call if you need medical treatment."

He said the Fire Department got a lot of calls after the governor changed the phase 2 priority order.

"When am I going to get my shot; where am I going to get it?" he said. "We're referring those people to the Council on Aging. Gretchen's probably pulling the hair out of her head."

McCormick said his department was making about seven runs a day, and that two were usually COVID-related or had the potential to be. He added that about 25% of his staff has been quarantined or has had the virus. He expressed hope that his department could partner with Duxbury and Kingston to provide vaccinations. "The issue is, you can't get the vaccine," he said. "It's very hard to get."

But, he echoed, residents have to be vigilant.

"It's not over yet," he stressed. "We have to keep doing what we've been doing: social distancing, masks, wash your hands, stay within your friend group, don't go out to parties, and we'll hopefully be able to get through this in September, when we can finally see some change for the good. We continue washing the hands until we can understand we have a majority of the population done with this. I don't see this happening until the end of this year, beginning of next year, to be quite honest with you."

When it will end isn't known. What is, though, are more challenges could present themselves in the form of variants making their way across the country.

"We should expect to see variants to the virus; that's what they do," Cullity said. "One of the variations is a little bit more dangerous than the other two. The other two seem to be in synch with the original strain; they just seem to be more infectious; they pass from person to person more easily. This virus will continue to mutate. We'll see more forms, as we do with influenza every year.

"While it's concerning, it's not a cause for panic. What will be a concern is when we see variants that are completely resistant to the vaccines that have already been developed. As of right now, it seems like the vaccines out there at least minimize if not inhibit the variants as well. So, that's good news."

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