Alicia Meyer

Health & Human Services Commission Chair: Masks ‘Are Still Important’

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Mask-wearing, after serving as the first line of defense during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, now serves as the second line of defense behind vaccines, according to the chair of the New Canaan Health & Human Services Commission. 

A topic of much debate in New Canaan, the masks “are still important,” according to Dr. Harrison Pierce, a local pediatrician for more than four decades, 

“We know how they function,” Pierce said during the Commission’s regular meeting Thursday, held via videoconference. “They filter the droplets, the aerosol, and they do this with varying degrees of efficiency,” from cloth masks to surgical masks and N-95 masks. “If you are uninfected and you are wearing a mask, you decrease the risk of getting COVID by about 67%, and if you are infected and wearing one you decrease of giving it to others by about 75%,” Pierce said. “And if you are both wearing it there is about a 92% decreased risk of getting sick with COVID.”

The comments came during a a discussion on mask-wearing that Pierce said he added to the appointed body’s agenda after hearing from State Rep. Lucy Dathan (D-142nd) and Commissioner Jenn Hladick on whether the Commission had a position with respect to masks. 

The issue has made headlines recently, as Gov. Ned Lamont has asked the state legislature to extend his executive powers, including with respect to an order in which the governor empowers the Department of Public Health commissioner to set rules about what types of buildings require mask-wearing (including schools). In New Canaan, parents have spoken out at recent Board of Education meetings, and the school board is scheduled to meet at 2:30 p.m. Friday, in part to vote on whether to send a letter to Lamont and others in Hartford requesting “local control” in COVID-related decision-making.

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Moynihan: Town Employee Holiday Party Canceled Due To Lack of Response, Not COVID-19

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Hours after a staffer in his own office notified municipal workers this week that their holiday party had been canceled due to rising COVID-19 cases, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan denied the report, saying instead that it was “due to lack of response from Town employees who wished to attend.”

“We do NOT have a concern about local increase in COVID cases, which continue to be very modest in size compared to our population and produce very mild illnesses for those who are vaccinated,” Moynihan said in an email sent Tuesday to department heads, the Board of Selectmen and his office staff. “We continue to urge all Town employees who are not vaccinated to get vaccinated unless there is a medical condition due to which an employee’s medical provider advises against vaccination,” he said in the email, obtained by NewCanaanite.com. The party had been planned for Dec. 16 at Waveny House. It was to include appetizers, dinner and dessert, as well as beer and wine, and a $10 “donation” from attendees was due Dec.

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Quiet Heroes of New Canaan: Jenn Eielson and Steve Karl 

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Jenn Eielson, New Canaan’s health director, paid out-of-pocket for a balloon guy and treats for kids for a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for children 5-and-older, held Nov. 11 at New Canaan High School, officials say. In all, 927 kids received their first dose during the clinic, Eielson told members of the Health & Human Services Commission during their regular meeting, held Thursday morning via videoconference. “Steve Karl from Karl Chevrolet caught wind that I paid for the balloon guy and all the treats and everything out of my own pocket, so Steve Karl and Karl Chevrolet graciously are going to be absorbing all of that cost,” Eielson said. “So I thank them greatly for that.”

The comments came during a general update from Eielson.

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Health Director: 1,000 Kids Aged 5 to 11 Registered for Nov. 11 COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic [CORRECTION] 

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More than 98% of 12- to 17-year-olds in New Canaan have been vaccinated against COVID-19 virus, according to the town’s health director. And 100% of town residents aged 18 to 44 also are vaccinated, Jenn Eielson told members of the Health & Human Services Commission during their regular meeting, held Thursday via videoconference. 

The 45- to 64-year-old age bracket stands at about 89%, while 100% of those aged 65-and-over are vaccinated, Eielson said during an update to the Commission. “The percentage of the total population with at least one dose—this includes those that re not currently eligible, is 80.12%,” she said. Eielson added that 72.9% of the total population is fully vaccinated. 

The town’s Health Department was scheduled to run a booster clinic Thursday of Moderna and Pfizer shots, she said, and 350 people registered for that. A booster clinic for teachers will be held Nov.

Around Town

‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ To Be Held Downtown Sept. 12

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For the first time in two years, the grassroots antique and speciality car show that’s drawn thousands of attendees to New Canaan in the past is set to return next month to the downtown. ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ will be held Sept. 12 on Pine and Elm Streets, following approvals this week by health and other municipal officials. “it will definitely be a big show,” said Doug Zumbach, owner of the eponymous coffee shop at Pine and Grove Streets where Caffeine & Carburetors was founded. “So I’m really excited.