With flu season approaching, Board of Health member Dr. Amanda Ritvo urged residents Monday to get vaccinated against influenza and outlined new state guidance for COVID-19 shots, saying September and October are the preferred months for flu vaccination.
Ritvo, speaking at the board’s Sept. 14 meeting, said the Massachusetts Department of Public Health is recommending annual flu vaccination for everyone 6 months and older. The latest COVID-19 vaccine for the 2026-27 season should also be available to anyone 6 months and older, with stronger recommendations for certain higher-risk groups.
Ritvo noted that flu and COVID vaccines can be given during the same visit.
She said last season’s flu vaccine was less effective than hoped because of small genetic mutations in the virus, but still reduced medical visits by roughly 40% in children and 20% to 35% in adults. It also reduced hospitalizations by about 40% in children and 30% in adults.
“A 30% reduction in hospitalization and severe disease is pretty significant,” Ritvo said.
Ritvo said September and October are generally the best months to receive a flu shot because the vaccine takes about two weeks to become fully effective and flu typically peaks later in the year. Vaccination can still be beneficial later in the season.
She also sought to dispel the misconception that a flu shot can cause influenza.
“It can’t actually make you sick with the flu,” Ritvo said. “You can have some generalized fatigue and muscle aches. That’s not getting the flu. That’s some effects of the flu vaccine.”
Ritvo also highlighted a newer mRNA flu vaccine available to adults 50 and older, though she said private insurance coverage remains uncertain. She said the technology could eventually make it easier to adjust vaccines to better match circulating flu strains.
For COVID-19, Ritvo said state guidance recommends vaccination particularly for infants, older adults, health care workers, pregnant people, immunocompromised people and others at higher risk of severe illness. Adults 65 and older should receive two doses six months apart, she said.
Ritvo also pointed residents ages 2 to 49 who do not have immunocompromising conditions toward FluMist, a nasal spray alternative to a shot.
Health Director Andrew Petty said the town plans to offer a flu vaccination day for municipal employees. Seniors 65 and older can also receive high-dose flu shots at the Council on Aging, 10 Humphrey St., Sept. 22, 11:30 am.-1:30 p.m. Sign up HERE.
The town will not be offering COVID vaccines.
Four businesses face $1,000 fines
The board also learned that four Marblehead businesses will each be fined $1,000 after inspectors found flavored nicotine products being sold in violation of local regulations.
Petty said the North Shore/Cape Ann Tobacco Policy Program conducted compliance checks Sept. 3 at Marblehead’s seven permitted tobacco retailers. None sold tobacco or nicotine products to a minor, but inspectors found flavored products at Beach Bluff Liquors, Richdale, Marblehead Village Market and 7-Eleven.
It was the first flavored-product violation for each business, Petty said.
Petty said the violations involved ZYN Chill nicotine pouches, which manufacturers market as unflavored even though inspectors determined they contain a flavor or cooling agent.
Board members expressed concern that retailers could be caught between tobacco companies telling them a product is permissible and state and local regulators determining otherwise.
“We’re dealing with tobacco companies issuing letters that nope, this is non-flavored,” Petty said. “When you take the product, open it up, you’re like, nope, this is wintergreen. Just because you say it’s not flavored doesn’t mean it’s non-flavored.”
Asked whether the businesses could receive warnings instead of immediate fines, Petty said the board does not have that discretion.
“We don’t have a choice,” he said. “This is how this is how it’s set. If you’re selling flavored tobacco, again, you need to know your products.”
Petty said the Health Department will conduct follow-up inspections. Additional violations carry escalating penalties and can eventually result in temporary loss of a retailer’s tobacco permit.
Board members asked the department to make sure Marblehead’s other permitted retailers know about the issue so they can check their inventories.
An ‘Amazing Race’ for teens?
The board also floated a lighter initiative aimed at giving Marblehead teenagers something fun to do without alcohol: a townwide scavenger hunt tentatively dubbed “Amazing Race Marblehead.”
The idea emerged after board member Kristen DuBay Horton met with a parent interested in finding ways to respond more quickly to young people’s needs.
“Kids want to know what you’ve done for them lately, and it’s got to be fun and real,” DuBay Horton said.
The concept would bring together high school and possibly middle school students, parents and community partners to design a “dry scavenger hunt” around town.
It’s “something to do that is really fun, even if you’re not drunk,” DuBay Horton said.
Possible challenges could send teens to recognizable Marblehead locations, where they might answer trivia questions, take photographs and upload them to social media. The hunt could also incorporate local gyms, physical therapists and other health and wellness businesses.
The board discussed partnering with the Recreation and Parks Department and offering prizes to make the event more appealing.
The proposal is still in its earliest stages, but board members indicated they want to move quickly and bring young people into the planning.
