LYNN — City officials and local health experts urged residents to get vaccinated Wednesday night during a virtual COVID-19 town hall, saying that the benefits outweigh the risks.
The town hall featured a roundtable discussion — moderated by Lynn Community Television’s Mukala Kabongo — that included Mayor Thomas M. McGee, Public Health Director Michele Desmarais, Salem Hospital doctors Miriam Neuman and Barbara Lambl, and Dr. Hanna Haptu and family nurse practitioner Marita Gove of Lynn Community Health Center.
McGee kicked off the event by stressing the importance of getting the COVID-19 vaccine to contribute to obtaining herd immunity, an ever-changing target that health experts believe will lead to a return to some type of normalcy.
McGee said the Lynn Tech vaccination site is open to all Massachuestts residents and is now servicing walk-ins as well.
“We’ve had great success thus far with our vaccination efforts with so many people coming together to make it work,” McGee said.
According to McGee, state data shows that, as of April 29, 31,381 Lynn residents are fully vaccinated and 13,282 are partially vaccinated. He said, overall, about 44 percent of the Lynn population has received their first dose.
Although the number of vaccinations continues to increase, McGee said they are still seeing positive cases of COVID-19 in the community.
Dr. Neuman, Salem Hospital’s chair of radiology, encouraged people to get tested and to get the vaccine, saying the vaccines are up to 95 percent effective.
She said that although the effectiveness is not 100 percent, the vaccine will prevent hospitalization and death, leaving people with mild symptoms if infected.
LCHC infectious disease specialist Dr. Haptu credited the lowering COVID-19 infection rates to the increase in vaccinations throughout the state, but urged people to not let their guards down and to continue to wear masks and practice social distancing when around strangers or people who are not fully vaccinated.
While the Johnson & Johnson vaccines were briefly put on hold, Dr. Lambl, an infectious disease specialist at Salem Hospital, said the vaccine is completely safe and the benefits are too vital to ignore.
“The COVID-19 virus itself causes blood clots in the lungs, in the legs and even in the brain,” Lambl said. “The chance of getting a severe illness from COVID-19 is three to four out of 100, as compared to three to four out of 1 million if you get vaccinated (with the J&J vaccine).”
Lambl also mentioned that the vaccines are safe for pregnant women, citing a study that showed more than 100,000 vaccinated women delivered babies with no increase in miscarriages or premature babies.
Gove, who practices at LCHC, said she encourages pregnant women to get vaccinated. She also encourages people who are fully vaccinated to keep wearing masks around those who are not fully vaccinated, because both can still be asymptomatic carriers of the disease.
Desmarais advised people who did not show up for their second dose, or are hesitant about it, to make an appointment, saying the vaccines are completely safe. She said she has heard some people are hesitant because of the pause put on the Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but noted that “it was just a pause, not a cancellation, and it is very important to get both doses.”
“I still have faith in Johnson & Johnson. I feel strongly about all three vaccines,” Desmarais said.
Haptu said the pause on Johnson & Johnson was important because it allotted time to dig into the data, confirming the vaccine’s safety. If someone has missed their second dose, Haptu said they can still receive it up to six months after the first dose and should do so in order to achieve full immunity.
According to Lambl, the effectiveness after the first dose is about 60 percent as opposed to about 94 percent after the second, and about 90 percent after the Johnson & Johnson single dose.
For those who have received the first dose, it is necessary to bring your vaccination card for the second appointment to ensure that the same vaccine brand is distributed both times. If a vaccination card is lost, Desmarais encourages people to reach out to the city’s Public Health Department because vaccination data can be found on the Massachusetts Immunization Information System (MIIS).
Everyone on the panel said they have received their vaccines and encouraged people to get theirs to ensure the safety of those around them.
Desmarais encouraged people to still get tested for COVID-19 if they are feeling symptoms or have been exposed to someone who has been infected — particularly those who are in school or participating in youth sports.
“Testing is still the most important means that we have to try to mitigate this disease,” she said.
COVID-19 testing is available at the Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC) and through Project Beacon at 398 Blossom St. off the Lynnway.
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected]
