Ann Kiessling wants the Board of Health to change its messaging on Covid-19.
Kiessling, a member of the board, has not wavered in her contention that mandatory face-covering does little to protect the community. She said at Monday’s board meeting that the key to a safer environment is air movement.
“The cases keep going up, even with an indoor mask mandate and a huge percentage vaccinated,” Kiessling said. “The public health message needs to change.”
The other board members agreed – but only as part of what they have called a “multi-pronged” approach” to managing the coronavirus.
“The most important factor in keeping people from getting infected is moving the air,” Kiessling declared. “That is exactly how all virology research is done; that’s the way operating rooms are set up.” If people are celebrating the holidays with others from outside the household, she said, they “need to figure out how to keep the air in your home moving,” preferably with fresh air.
She shared data from the past two-and-a-half months comparing Bedford and the five surrounding towns on Covid cases. Some of the towns do not require face-covering indoors. “Indoor masks in area towns don’t seem to be making a difference. How much more data do we need that we are not at any greater risk than Burlington or Concord?”
Kiessling said the figures from the state Department of Public Health demonstrate that “whether or not there is a mask mandate, we will continue to see a rise in cases.” She said, “the clustering happens when people go to activities,” enumerating various social events.
Kiessling pointed out that Health Department data show that more than 40 percent of local cases are among vaccinated residents. Asked if state health officials are addressing that situation in its weekly conference calls, town Health and Human Services Director Heidi Porter said the recent focus has been on vaccinating children.
“I’m not sure vaccination and masking is the best public health strategy to keep people safe over the holidays,” Kiessling said. The mask mandate, she added, is “bankrupting some of our small businesses and we should have a real reason to continue that. It’s affecting a lot of people’s livelihoods and I don’t think it has been proven to be that effective.”
Air movement is “really sound advice,” said member Bea Brunkhorst, but it is one of several strategies. Others are vaccination, testing, and face-covering. Brunkhorst, an immunologist and cell biologist, also spoke optimistically about the impact of booster shots on the neutralizing antibodies, which combat the virus.
“The data on masking is not clear or definitive,” said member Maureen Richichi. “I agree we need to get air ventilation out there and a clearer message about masks—cloth masks are the most inadequate. I still believe from all my reading that they are an important part of the toolbox when they are worn correctly.”
“As people get fatigued with this they tend to rely on the masks; distancing is still important,” Richichi said. Covid “is not like the flu yet. We need to use all the things to keep transmission low and keep kids in school.”
Member Susan Schwartz endorsed keeping air flowing in homes and keeping windows open in moving vehicles. “Keep things moving,” she said, and she added, “I think masks are doing something as part of our comprehensive recommendations. There is value in masking.”
Also at the meeting, Porter cited an increase in Covid case count for the period Nov. 5-18. The total was 39 (according to the state Department of Public Health), the highest two-week total since Sept. 30. “We’re coming into the holiday season, so I’m a little concerned,” she said.
The cases included 18 breakthroughs and 11 unvaccinated children. Porter said there were seven households reporting at least two cases apiece.
Almost 400 children ages 5-11 have been inoculated at the two Health Department clinics, Porter said; there are about 1,200 residents in that age range. Some will begin receiving their second dose as soon as next week. “Many of the children and parents were excited that the town could offer it,” said Board of Health Chair Anita Raj. The kids saw their friends there—it was cool to watch.”
Katharine Dagle, assistant health director, reported that over the past two weeks, seven businesses reported that employees tested positive for Covid-19. Since these reports are not required, she said, “There is likely to be more positives than that number reflects.” She added that there were two complaints in connection with the mask mandate.
A few weeks ago the committee agreed to rescind the town’s indoor mask mandate if Middlesex County Covid cases fell below 100 per 100,000 residents for four consecutive weeks. Porter told the meeting that the most recent case count is around 169. She added that the Covid dashboard in the town website won’t be updated until next Monday because of the holiday weekend.
Richichi said she is still concerned that, according to Health Department statistics, less than 80 percent of residents older than 70 have been vaccinated. “How can we do outreach to our most vulnerable?” She told Porter, “I know you’re trying; it’s just frustrating.”
Porter told the board of her fruitless search to fill the position of Bedford’s community nurse, which has been vacant for more than a month. She said she is contacting area universities as well as online employment services. “There is stiff competition out there,” she said.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
Correction, November 28, 2021: Booster shots impact the neutralizing antibodies which combat the virus; not the ‘neutralization of antibodies’ as the article originally stated.
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I missed this meeting, does the board of health meet on a regular basis every two weeks? I thought I saw something that the next meeting wasn’t until December 6. Anyways, did the board of health mention what the total monetary amount is of fines that have been issued in the town of Bedford, for businesses or organizations not complying with the mask mandate? I would like to know what this amount is, and what the town is using the money for that has been collected from business owners. I’m sure these fines, if they are being collected, are adding insult to injury to businesses who are already seeing a reduction in business due to the pandemic at large and accelerated by the mask mandate in our town.
What Ann Kiessling is reffering to is make up air or fresh air coming into a building or home. Over the course of my long career in Facilities I have seen many buildings starved for fresh air. One way of monitoring this is to measure the CO2 levels. Years ago the standard was not to exceed 1,000 parts per million (PPM) but in more recent times this has been reduced to levels as low as 700 PPM. During my long career in facilities management I have tested buildings including schools that had levels exceeding 2,000 PPM. One thing I learned from all of this was that the absenteeisim rate (due to more frequent colds and flu) in buildings that had poor air quality was much higher. This is still a big problem today as many buildings HVAC systems are poorly maintained and in some cases the HVAC controls set up incorrectly from day one starving the building for fresh air. In your home especially during the holidays you can minimize this by opening the windows and doors at least a couple of times a day to let the fresh air in.
I’m glad we’re talking about air movement and risk reduction. To clarify the role of air movement in viral research and operating rooms, one might consider that as they work in environments with appropriate air movement, researchers and surgical staff wear Personal Protective Equipment including face coverings. In the case of viral research, that PPE may additionally include surgical hoods, respirators or positive pressure suits. People are not standing bare-faced in these well-ventilated environments. Of course, neither of these scenarios are perfect analogies for our COVID situation. But they are excellent illustrations of the advantages of a multi-pronged approach.
I’m confused as to how the mask mandate is bankrupting businesses in town. There is no cost to mask mandates, other than from people who don’t want to comply. If people just stopped whining about it and accepted it as part of life in these times, there wouldn’t be any problem. As for keeping the air moving, moving air to make things better isn’t just turning on a fan. Operating rooms don’t just move air, it is filtered and moved in a specific way over the surgical field. The systems to do that are very expensive. It can be part of the mitigation strategy, but that WILL cost business money, either by buying HEPA filtration systems or just keeping windows open where, with winter coming, means extra heating costs.
Has CDC reversed it’s finding that indoor masks are helpful? By ” air circulation” being a better alternative, do they mean using fans or air filtration systems? IMHO a fan would spread airborne germs indoors. I’d suggest high- end air filtration devices in each classroom ( with adequate supply of replacement filters). But I’m by no means qualified to say.