By Lawrence J. Thaul
Our community’s rapidly expanding response to Covid-19 was addressed by an informative panel which included Westchester County Health Commissioner, Dr. Sherita Amler, Mamaroneck Schools Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Nora Mazzone, and President and CEO of the Osborn, a local continuing care facility, Matthew Anderson. The meeting, co-sponsored by the Larchmont/Mamaroneck Local Summit and LMCMedia, was held via Zoom on March 9th.
According to Dr. Amler, 18.8% of the NYState population have received their first Pfizer or Moderna dose. In Westchester, 207,864 received their first shot and 109,219 have had both. Vaccination locations have grown to include more hospitals, pharmacies and healthcare centers, the County Center, pop-up clinics, and a NYS FEMA location at the National Guard Armory in Yonkers. Efforts are expanding to reach the homebound, those without computers or smart phones, and the illiterate.Dr. Amler affirmed that all three vaccines are effective. Citing a very minimal risk of anaphylaxis from the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, she noted that there are no such reported reactions to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Younger people may react more strongly to a vaccine than older people. Her office is closely watching the reports on the vaccines’ effectiveness on the new strains of the virus. Furthermore, a vaccine is currently being developed for children, 12-16.
Mask wearing, social distancing, and adhering to CDC guidelines continue to be important. Herd immunity requires fully 70-80% of the population be vaccinated. She offered no estimate of when that will be achieved.In response to the pandemic, Dr. Mazzone detailed how the Mamaroneck School district formed a district-wide crisis team to coordinate information and formulate health and safety guidelines. To keep students connected via home learning, they distributed 2,800 chrome books to those lacking them, while dispersing multiple Wi Fi hotspots. They developed services for disabled children and provided meals for those in need. A hotline was set up and staffed by social workers for parents to learn about district resources and get help from collaborating agencies. Additional mental health and emotional counseling support for both children and parents are now being offered.
Dr. Mazzone expressed gratitude for the Stanford Design Lab, creators of the hybrid plan which enables every student to attend school safely for at least half day, every day, keeping learning a social endeavor. She recognized the dedication of all stakeholders, from our nursing staff to our generous community which raised $75K toward voluntary surveillance testing which, combined with $3M spent on protective equipment, resulted in 84% of Mamaroneck students returning to school daily.
In preparation for the planned April 8th full return to in person learning, physical facilities have been optimized from classrooms to cafeterias and gyms. To minimize virus transmission there will be 3-sided desk partitions and hallways will be one-way. Eleventh and twelfth grade students can go off site or outside for lunch. The district continues to survey the community and may create an ongoing parent academy. She stressed that keeping up with changing conditions and needs involves the support of school-community partnerships.
Mr. Anderson’s long experience at the Osborne helped to prepare him to deal with the challenges the pandemic posed to the facility’s 430 senior residents, 425 staff plus 150 individuals receiving home care. He said the 56 acre campus makes possible outdoor distancing activities during the relatively mild winter.
Indoors, the residents safely socialize via closed circuit onscreen interaction. Despite scarce testing and delayed test results early on, at present, all residents and staff have been tested, with direct care nursing staff tested twice daily, and 85% have been vaccinated. He said his toughest decision was mandating vaccinations for all staff. This was necessary to protect the extremely vulnerable resident population there.
Soon those residents will again enjoy three meals daily in their dining room and the reopening of small group activities including the gym and pool. But mask wearing, social distancing, UVC lighting, MERV 13 filters and protocols will remain in place following full reopening later this month. Since the risk of infection is not eliminated even with 95% vaccine efficiency, Mr. Anderson emphasized that the virus can still spread. He praised continued testing along with contact tracing. He pleaded for universal vaccinations and vigilance since it takes just a small exposure to send those with underlying conditions into the hospital.
In the discussion that followed, County Executive George Latimer reported that the county Department of Senior Services contributes to the COVID effort by identifying the homebound including apartment dwellers and those with medical issues in need of vaccinations, many of whom have now received the one shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine which helps the effort considerably.
To learn more about the Larchmont/Mamaroneck Local Summit visit: www.localsummitlm.org. The next zoom program will be a report from our school superintendents on April 13th, at 8:00 a.m.
