Vaccine launch in Vermont was hampered by federal distribution

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MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Gov. Phil Scott on Tuesday said Vermont is one of the most important states to implement the coronavirus vaccine so far, but acknowledged that more needs to be done to vaccinate more people more quickly.

Vermont has so far received 30,000 doses and administered 17,653. This is the seventh best rate in the country and twice as fast as the national average. As of Tuesday, the state is a quarter of the way to Group 1A: health workers and long-term care centers. While Scott says the state is on the right track, many remnants are out of our control. “I think we’re doing pretty well, but we can do better and we’ll do better,” Scott said.

Health officials say there is a time lag in putting the vaccine in the arms of Vermonters because they cannot schedule vaccine appointments until the vaccine arrives. And with ongoing supply chain problems at the federal level, they can’t schedule appointments as far as they would like. “If you look at a statistic right now, it looks like none of those doses have been used. And as it happens every day, only a quarter of it will be used, so it may seem like we’re behind.” said Dr. Mark Levine, commissioner of Vt.

And there would be more vaccines on the way. The AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved in the UK and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be available by the end of the month. Once Vermont has a steady supply, Scott says a widespread vaccination campaign can begin. “We will increase our efforts to distribute vaccines as quickly as we receive them. And it would be helpful if we knew what that supply chain was like and knew how much we were going to get each week consistently, ”Scott said.

And as vaccinations increase, Levine says he is watching for the most infectious variant of the coronavirus: B117. There is no evidence that the new strain is more deadly, but it claims it could spread more quickly and put more Vermonters in the hospital. Levine says he disagrees with UK plans to make just one vaccine to vaccinate more people. He said it would be off-label use and worries that it will not be as effective as getting two doses.

The state continues to move forward with its plan for the next phase of vaccinations for people age 75 and older and for people with health conditions such as heart disease, emphysema, COPD, cancer and people who have received a donation of ‘organs. Levine urged people not to call or write, and the Vermonters will know when it’s their turn.

OFFICIALS USE TESTS FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES

Gov. Scott and Levine urged Vermonters who may not have followed COVID state guidelines over the holidays to get tested now to prevent a potential virus rise in the coming weeks.

“We are trying to prevent people from suffering pain and suffering. we are focused on saving lives, ”Scott said.

To get tested, people can call their healthcare provider, go to a participating pharmacy or urgent care, including Kinney, Walgreens, and ClearChoice medications, or they can register for a test at one of the 15 health department website.

DATA SHOWS HOLIDAY JOURNEY TO VERMONT UP TO PANDEMIC

As COVID cases continue to rise across the country, Vermont officials are also concerned about trends in the Northeast. COVID-19 cases rose 20 percent last week, with 176,000 new cases reported.

The latest state modeling shows that not only cases are increasing, but also hospitalizations. They have increased 85% in the Northeast since December 1 and 13% since Christmas. These figures, added to holiday travel, are a major concern. Although vacation trips to Vermont fell by half, it remains the most traveled state in any time during the pandemic.

Vermonters who live in ski resort towns tell WCAX that they see more and more visitors out of state and are concerned that visitors don’t always follow health protocols. When asked about this Tuesday, Gov. Scott said there is no conclusive data pointing to a connection between ski resorts and growing cases of COVID-19 in southern Vermont, and that it is up to the resorts to enforce the rules. “While we are concerned, we are monitoring the situation, it is very difficult in some respects to step up enforcement,” he said.

Vermont also predicts an increase in cases, with an estimate of active cases in the state that returned to where it was in early December. “We are now 11 days away from Christmas and need more time to understand the potential impact of this event, plus about ten days or so to see the full impact of New Year’s Eve,” the commissioner said. of the DFR, Mike Pieciak.

And while it’s too early to know the impact of the holidays, health department contact plotters have heard of some cases related to holiday meetings. Depending on how the Vermonters abide by the rules, the state could see a rise with a projected average of 200 cases a day in late January. Or, without an increase, cases could be kept flat at about 100 per day for the rest of the month. Commissioner Levine says they should have a better idea of ​​the path the state is on this Friday.

As of Monday, Vermont health officials reported a daily count of 165 new coronavirus cases for a total of 8,038. There have been a total of 149 deaths. The state’s seven-day positive percent average is 2.8%. A total of 719,758 tests were performed, 307 passengers were monitored, 11,885 were completed and 5,463 were recovered.

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