In the past week, I have offered emails and a letter asking how the Antrim Select Board could justify the discriminatory request on the Town Hall door and the town website that (COVID) “unvaccinated members of the public” wear masks in Antrim public buildings for the safety of employees.
The reply from the chairman was that he felt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the State of New Hampshire are in alignment with that statement but has not given (as requested), written information of justification. I offered written contradictory information from reliable sources, specifically CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, who stated on Aug. 5 that vaccines cannot prevent transmission.
In addition, my immunologist, Dr. Francisco Bonilla, director of clinical immunology at Boston Children’s Hospital, has echoed the CDC. Furthermore, various published reports, including in The New York Times, The Guardian and The Lancet have indicated that vaccinated people can spread the disease and that vaccine effectiveness decreases over time.
Additionally the Select Board did not note the New Hampshire agency from which they claim justification for this inflammatory message. Instead, what is in their Jan. 10 minutes is a unanimous vote with no justification. Suggesting there is an increase of Omicron infections does not warrant a prejudiced statement targeting the unvaccinated as the source of those infections and should be changed.
If Antrim feels the need to protect town employees, the message should be reworded to read “all members of the public are encouraged to wear face masks.” I sincerely hope for this change so that we the public will feel more encouraged to come to the upcoming Town Meeting.
Rebecca Hull
Antrim