County health official responds to critics
Despite weeks of being pummeled at county Board of Supervisors meetings over their role in battling the COVID-19 pandemic, Public Health Department employees remain undeterred in their efforts, agency Director Janette Angulo said Thursday.
“We have a team of dedicated professionals that came together to serve our community in very difficult times,” she said. “We do so to preserve the health and safety of our community.”
After the state issued an order requiring face coverings be worn by most unvaccinated people indoors in public settings, the county board went a step further. On Aug. 16 it voted to require that for the vaccinated as well.
The decision ignited heated protests at board meetings by those opposing local and state mandates for masks and COVID vaccines, who said those measures should be choices, not requirements. The appearances at board meetings persist and have extended to public rallies.
In a partial victory for the anti-mandate group a 3-2 board vote on Oct. 26 will end the county’s more restrictive mask order effective Monday.
At the meetings the mandate opponents are often furiously critical of health officials, which the board has appear remotely by video to provide the latest COVID data. Those officials include Angulo and county Health Officer Stephen Munday, a physician.
Besides the COVID data and information they report, Angulo and Munday have been criticized for not being at the meetings, and Munday for his salary.
“I asked them not to be present because of the direct accusations. That was me,” District 4 Supervisor Ryan Kelley said at the Oct. 26 meeting, trying to take some of the pressure off the officials.
When asked if there had been any threats to department officials, Angulo said in the interview, “There has been disagreement. Everybody has their opinions and it’s OK to disagree. We will continue to do what we have to do. They’ve (Public Health staff ) made a lot of sacrifices.”
Munday was not available for an interview, stated Maria Peinado, Public Health information officer. He has been county health officer since 2004. He is board certified in preventive medicine, occupational medicine and medical toxicology and has master’s degrees in public health and environmental toxicology, Peinado reported.
In June, the board unanimously approved and modified Munday’s agreement for physician services for an additional three years, stated Gilbert Rebollar, county public information officer, in an email. He is earning $119,100 per year.
The Public Health team that includes Munday considers a variety of factors and trends in determining how to protect the public, as well as implementing the policies of the state Department of Public Health, Angulo explained.
“What do masks and vaccines do? Simple. They protect individuals,” she said in response to critics. “Vaccines help prevent illness and death. What we have seen in recent months are those who are not vaccinated getting ill, and deaths too.”
Masks, Angulo said, prevent the spread of COVID and the more who wear masks in a setting, the less the spread of the virus.
Concerning allegations of bias or incompetence on the part of health officials, Angulo only said, “Individuals have a right to their opinions.”
Asked if the county could defy state orders as some anti-mandate proponents have suggested, she explained, “As the director of the Department of Public Health, I will assure compliance with local, state and federal laws as they apply to the Health Department and the community.”
The agency’s role during the last 20 months of the COVID-19 pandemic has been varied and gone far beyond simply reporting data and helping create and implement policies, Angulo added.
“We helped get supplies, such as masks, goggles, gowns and generators, to 80 agencies that requested them. We provided personnel support, ambulance strike teams, helped with patient transfers and the alternate care site at IVC (temporary hospital beds at Imperial Valley College) that served 560 patients,” she said.
Support for Public Health was voiced by Kelly at the Oct. 26 board meeting, even though he has said he opposes mandates.
"Hereos to villians. A year ago healthcare workers were hereos. Today they are being treated very disrespectfully," he said. "I would counsel all of you to recall when we were extremely worried a year ago. When they were heroes. Lift them up. We are having a discourse with the person next to you who has a different view. Don’t allow that one disagreement to separate you.”
Angulo conceded the data on COVID can “absolutely” be confusing. But she encouraged people to read the websites of county and state health departments, the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and others to gain familiarity with COVID issues.
"It wasn't there early on, but now we have a lot more information. It's public and it's posted," she said.