Date: Fri 09-Apr-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Lyme-Vaccine-employee-town

Full Text:

Town's Insurance Will Cover Lyme Vaccine For High Risk Employees

BY JAN HOWARD

The town's health insurance policy will provide coverage for Lyme disease

immunizations for town employees who would be at risk of contact with a tick

that carries the disease.

However, in a memo to town employees, First Selectman Herbert C. Rosenthal

stated that those employees in a high risk category should consult with their

physician first to determine whether the Lymerix vaccine, recently accepted by

the Federal Drug Administration, would be safe to use as part of an individual

tick borne disease preventive plan.

Mr Rosenthal stated the position of the town is that employees who work in

"high risk" jobs should practice prudent tick protective measures as explained

in a March 22 memorandum from Director of Health Mark Cooper.

In his memorandum, Mr Cooper said those in high risk job categories should

follow basic tick avoidance steps to ensure protection against Lyme disease

and other tick borne infections through use of tick repellents, appropriate

protective clothing (light colored with pants tucked into socks and shirts

into pants), and to perform frequent and careful tick checks on clothes and

body after leaving a tick habitat.

Mr Cooper told the Health District's board of directors on Monday that the

Centers for Disease Control's position is that Lymerix use should be

considered for workers who would be at risk of contact with a tick that

carries the disease because of high risk job tasks, such as hand mowing grass,

cutting brush, planting flowers, or walking near the edge of woods or other

brushy areas.

While the immunizations would protect against Lyme disease, people still need

to take protective measures against other tick borne diseases, Mr Cooper said.

He said the vaccine is 80 percent effective. The vaccine is given in an

initial shot, followed by one a month later and another six months later.

Dr Thomas Draper, the board's health adviser, said the vaccine is 50 percent

effective after two shots, but it is not known how long the immunizations

last.

"It is not known how many boosters are needed or how often," he said. The

vaccine is safe, he added.

Dr Draper said 80 percent effectiveness is helpful, but "you still have to

protect yourself against exposure."

Teen Cholesterol Screening

In other business, the board of directors discussed sponsoring a cholesterol

screening that would target the junior class at Newtown High School. The

screening will include LDL and HDL numbers, Mr Cooper said.

Dr Draper said the study would provide population data that could be used as

part of health education for the students.

He said high cholesterol begins in childhood and is influenced by the diet

people follow.

Mr Cooper said, "It might be worth our while to see what our teenagers are

doing."

No date has as yet been set for the screening. Funds have been approved in the

budget, Mr Cooper said, but the entire cost will be determined by how many of

the 275 juniors participate in the test.

The board of directors also voted unanimously to approve its 1999-2000 budget

of $343,975.24.

There is no increase in borough or town health assessments for the Health

District budget. The local contribution remains the same as that of the

current year, $205,564.35 for the town and $19,488.63 for the borough.

The budget is up $10,372.54, or about 3.1 percent more than the current budget

of $333,602.70, because of additional funding in the state per capita grant

fund and anticipated salary increases as a result of union negotiations.

Director of Environmental Health Donna McCarthy reported that the Apple

Blossom Lane project is almost completed and that everyone will be connected

to the public water system within the next two weeks.