Next Year’s Budget:
PH is in the process of doing their budget drafts. They have an Oct BoCC meeting where they will present the budget proposal and how much money they will require from the county.
Infectious Disease Update:
Covid hospitalizations are going up in the region and the state, and flu cases are up more than usual. When there is early flu, there are often worse cases because the disease hits before most people are vaccinated. Covid vaccinations are recommended for all adults, all kids from 6 months to 2, and kids between 2-18 with underlying health concerns. The category of folks who is the second-most hospitalized were babies under the age of one. Pregnant folks should be vaccinated, and everyone around that baby should be vaccinated to protect the babies who cannot be vaccinated. The pediatric Covid 19 vaccine is not yet available but it should be available in October. There are already kids being hospitalized with covid in WA.
There is not much RSV activity, but that does not normally happen until November. The RSV vaccination is recommended for all babies going into their first RSV season, Native American and Native Alaskan babies in their first or second RSV season, and all adults over age 50. There are no pertussis cases in Jefferson, but there are cases in Clallam and Kitsap.
Dr. Berry shared the measles map put out by Johns Hopkins University. The US is on track to lose measles elimination status. Measles is moving through the Amish community particularly strongly right now. Dr. Berry reminded everyone that vaccination is an act of community to protect everyone in your sphere from disease. A person getting vaccinated protects the others around them. WA PH work has stopped measles from spreading as much as it could when it arrived in WA by effective tracking and by communities having high levels of vaccination, particularly among children. Dr. Berry will be out in the community talking with different groups about vaccination and will work with everyone to support their family’s health.
It was noted that the shingles vaccine also serves as a booster for chicken pox. If you had chicken pox as a child, you are susceptible to getting shingles as you age. The group of students about to turn 50 has been vaccinated against chicken pox and never got it, so they will never be at risk for shingles. But those older than 50 and those who had chicken pox should be vaccinated.
Diaper Drive Month
Please get diapers and wipes when you’re shopping and drop them off at Public Health. You can also make donations in numerous places around town, including at Public Health, at the PH clinic in Quilcene behind the post office, at the county courthouse. The PH main office can also tell you all the other donation locations. A stuff-the-van was underway at PH during the meeting.
Conversation about Encampment Sweep After Effects
The full discussion will be postponed until October. This was going to be more interactive than typical Board of Health sessions, and it is important for members of the group seeking the information to be present.
It was noted that the after-action from the county on the encampment sweep is not ready, so it is useful to hold off on having the discussion. Apple Martine and Dr. Berry have done a deep dive over the last four weeks to prepare for this. The Housing Fund Board is another part of this discussion, and another possible meeting might be with the Shelter Coalition Housing Board and the Board of Health, but that can be subject to too many people’s calendars. There have been discussions on how to do supported, interim encampments and have a unified policy across the county, with outreach templates so that different groups (civic, religious) know how to implement a safe parking space or other temporary supported space. PH did an internal review on the implications of the encampment sweep, and yesterday the county held their internal review. Both groups will be issuing reports summarizing those discussions. The next step will be corrective action planning for clear instructions for what happens in future cases. It was acknowledged that there will be a next time because there are more people who are losing housing. Sweeps are a last resort policy, and when it has to be implemented, it has to be done in a way that respects the law and treats people with dignity and compassion.
Environmental Health Fee Schedule Being Updated
The fee-setting process is beginning early because there are a lot of changes and they wanted time to begin the consideration. There will be a full public process in November. There was a quick review of a rather large spreadsheet with line-in, line-out changes for the fee schedule. The Food Establishment section got a lot of work done to make fees more clear for customers. Some fees were included as part of others, but those have now been broken out so that customers know exactly what fee is for what. One of the big changes regarded late fees for food service renewals, and moving the date up to comply with WA Code. As this is a big change, they are working on a campaign to announce the changes, including mailing and emailing every food establishment. They will get the renewal paperwork out in January by snail mail and email so that everyone knows the deadlines. There are some establishments who are chronically late in getting their food establishment paperwork in, which results in a lot of staff time devoted to get the establishments to get their paperwork in. PH does not want to have to close down any business, but the law requires there to be current paperwork in to stay open.
In response to a question about how many businesses are chronically late, it was reported that last year there were 3 establishments that were on the day of being forced to close when they got their paperwork in. There are a dozen that are chronically late every year. The late fees will go up significantly this year. Another change is that nonprofits will no longer get the 25% discount for temporary food service because there is no more wiggle room in the budget. There was a question on how many nonprofits this would affect, which will be answered at the next meeting.
