The Aquinnah board of health is looking at the potential of providing COVID-19 vaccines to members of the public.
At a selectmen’s meeting Tuesday, Aquinnah board of health chair Jim Glavin said he is working with a medical professional who is “at the forefront of trying to get a separate route for the COVID vaccine.”
He said that although storing the vaccine under the proper conditions would be a challenge, the doctor he is working with is “perfectly willing to distribute the vaccines, to do them.”
“We are trying to get them for everyone. I’m not sure we are going to pull this off — I’m not even sure it’s really necessary, since the rollout has been pretty ubiquitous,” Glavin said. “If it works for the town, this is what we are trying to do.”
Initially, board of selectmen chair Jim Newman addressed an agenda item related to the cooperation and collaboration of the Aquinnah board of health with other town boards. “I was concerned about that, because I periodically hear from other boards of health that they don’t hear from the Aquinnah board of health,” Newman said. “I just wasn’t sure what is really going on, and just what our board of health is doing to work with other Island towns. What are we giving to the Island community?”
Glavin explained that there was some back and forth between town health officials about a list being generated for public safety personnel to be inoculated. The list was sent in an email to Island health officials, but Glavin said the email was mistakenly sent to the old health assistant’s address. He said that issue has been “resolved completely.”
Glavin said health officials have been working hard to advance the health of the town, and noted that Aquinnah is the only town that provides take-home tests to the community, which are less intrusive than nose swabs, and yield results in the same time frame.
Apart from the goal of acquiring COVID vaccines for the general public, Glavin said, the town is also looking to get antibody tests that are self-administered and can be taken home. “These tests are a little more intrusive, in that you have to prick your finger to get a little drop of blood, but it gives you instant results,” Glavin said.
In other business, Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) member Ben Robinson presented the draft climate policy that would help govern how the commission reviews developments of regional impact.
The policy addition comes after the MVC adopted a climate resolution in 2019 that seeks to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and increase local electricity production through integrating sustainable building practices and utilizing alternative energy sources.
Robinson added that the policy further supports the nonbinding climate resolution that was passed in West Tisbury and Aquinnah.
Through driving development toward all-electric, and generating more energy on the Island, Robinson said, this policy will help improve the resiliency and self-sufficiency of the Vineyard.
He said any showing of support for the policy from selectmen would be beneficial, to which
Newman said, “I’m sure we will all be on board with this.”