For the first time in several months, the members of the Perry County Health Board outnumbered the citizens seeking to provide public comment at a Sept. 21 meeting held at the Catalyst Center for Business.
Just two individuals spoke publicly during the citizen’s comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting.
Aimee Clifton told the board of her family’s decision to not vaccinate.
“My family and I have chosen not to vaccinate, and the purpose is because our family is very sensitive to vaccinations,” she said. “We’ve had many frightening reactions to vaccinations that we’ve had in the past.”
Adverse reactions to vaccinations is something their family has experienced.
For one of her daughters, it began after receiving the chicken pox vaccine.
“It did not go so well for my youngest,” Clifton said. “There were several weeks that she regressed.”
A local volunteer, Clifton said it’s a complex matter.
“My family is not choosing to be unvaccinated to cause any harm, to cause any distress to anyone,” Clifton said. “We highly, highly care about this community but we still will be sticking to our decision and we’re really humbly asking to be represented because it’s not just the black and white, ‘Oh, I’m extremely anti-vaccination or I’m extremely pro-(vaccination). We’re kind of in the middle. We don’t mind if other people want to (get vaccinated) that’s their choice, and I have no problem with that. There’s no anger or anything in my heart, just concern that I would like to be able to make that choice for my family.”
Chris Gucciardo was the other individual to ask the board a question.
Gucciardo, listening to the meeting via phone, wanted to know if the vaccines available for COVID-19 are effective against the Delta variant. Morrison said the short answer “is yes.” Gucciardo notified the health board that members of the community informed the school board that the vaccine was not effective.
“I am 100 percent sure that the health department board of trustees never said that it’s not effective,” Morrison said. “Now, whether or not it is as effective as everyone wishes it was that is open for discussion, but, yes the vaccines do work, they do prevent COVID.”
During the meeting, health department director Liz House provided a vaccine report
“You’ll see a large increase in the number given in August, that is due to school vaccines,” House said. “We did start giving flu vaccines.”
Since the Sept. 9 board decision, House said other Missouri counties who are no longer monitoring close contact individuals at schools the same way they had before.
Health board member Chris Wibbenmeyer asked House if the changes approved earlier this month had shifted priorities to more routine items.
“It’s been completely different at the health department, and in a good way, since that last meeting,” House said. “I was actually able to pay bills, so that was nice. With the way investigations are being done differently, people that do the reporting, one, with less calls they are able to get more done, two, people are more pleasant...we still have a ways to go but it is slowly getting better. We’re getting there.”
Since the Sept. 9 board decision, House said other Missouri counties who are no longer monitoring close contact individuals at schools the same way they had before.
Seeking health educator
The board discussed a job description for a health education position, which it will be seeking to fill in the near future.
“Instead of doing a very specific program, they will be doing a lot of various programs within the health department, as well as doing a lot more outreach for the health department,” House said.
The individual will serve as a backup for the department’s Women, Infants and Children program.
Ideally, the person will have a nutrition or dietitian background, or possibly a master’s degree in public health, according to House.
