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Health & Human Services Director responding to #207377 re: public communications about patterns in colds and flus.
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Official Text
To the Honorable Council Members:
Board Order 207377: That the Director of Health and Human Services inform this Board of the protocol for communicating with the public about any particular patterns in seasonal flu or colds.
The public health nurses as well as the Health and Human Services Department start community outreach for flu vaccines and availability in the beginning of September. We follow the guidance of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), who maintain a database for monitoring infectious disease state wide. The HHS Director and the Public Health Nurse will be notified if there is a concern for an individual community. The DPH will provide us with Standards of Practice and Protocol for addressing any outbreaks and the public will be notified as recommended. The threshold will differ based on the clustering of reported known cases. As a point of clarity, the cases must be verified as positive, which can be delayed due to testing results as well as reporting timelines.
I am available to answer questions and provide future updates.
Doug Kress
Director