Officials see worrying signs, but say it is too early to say the full Covid consequences of holidays

Covid-19 cases are on the rise in Vermont and Northeast, but it is difficult to say whether the holidays caused a real upsurge in the state, officials said at a news conference Tuesday.

Cases have risen 20% among Vermont’s neighbors over the past week, while testing has declined. The local positivity rate has increased by more than 10% in the past week, said Michael Pieciak, Minister of Financial Regulations. Vermont’s positivity rate was 2.8% Tuesday.

Government Phil Scott said New England, New York and Quebec reported a total of 170,000 new cases over the holiday.

“These numbers alone are disturbing,” Scott said. “But these are not just the cases, because positivity is also increasing in our neighboring states.”

Vermont had 746 new Covid cases last week, up from 586 the previous week. But it could be a remnant of delays with testing and reporting during the holidays. Pieciak said it’s only been 11 days since Christmas, and just a few days since New Year.

The state reported 165 cases on Tuesday, above the seven-day average of 106, Drs. Mark Levine, commissioner of the health department, said. Deaths total 149; On Monday, the state added four deaths that have occurred since September, which it considered likely due to Covid-19.

More people traveled to Vermont during the holidays than at any other time during the pandemic, but the number of travelers was still well below the 2019 level, Pieciak said.

The state’s model shows that if Vermont would have a holiday increase in line with what other states’ Thanksgiving numbers would rise in the coming weeks, but still remain within the capability of the state’s medical system, Pieciak said.

17 650 doses of vaccines given

The state administered 17,650 first doses of the Covid vaccine, including about 5,000 last week, Levine said.

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That’s more than half of the 30,000 doses Vermont received before last week, well above the national average of about 28% of the vaccines distributed, according to data compiled by The New York Times.

Vermont also compares well with other states when it comes to the percentage of the population that is vaccinated. So far, 2,557 doses per 100,000 Vermonters have been distributed, the highest in the northeast, Pieciak said.

Officials said the delay between dispensed vaccines and distributed vaccines is partly due to the congested medical system, and partly due to uncertainty in how many vaccines will be in Vermont.

“From our point of view, we will increase our efforts to distribute the vaccines as soon as we receive them,” Scott said. “And it will be useful if we know what the supply chain looks like and how much we are going to get each working week on a consistent basis so that we can increase our efforts and continue to issue the vaccinations.”

Scott said there was also a delay time between receiving the vaccine and distributing the vaccine, as well as a three-day delay between the pharmacies that distribute the vaccine and until when they report it to the state.

Levine said that if a shipment were to arrive in the state on Tuesday, clinics would already be planning on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but it would not yet appear in the data. “We seem to be behind, but that’s the reality of how you plan the treatment of a treatment like this,” he said.

The state targeted the first dose of the vaccine to about half of all emergency medical workers and a quarter of health workers, Levine said.

The state expects the vaccinations to be completed this week for patients and staff of competent nursing homes, after which they will go to relief and other long-term care facilities, said Mike Smith, secretary of the Human Services Agency.

Continue by age group

Levine said Vermont’s vaccination advisory board has officially recommended the next phase of the vaccine to older Vermonters. It recommended that the state first vaccinate people 75 years and older, then people 65 to 74 years, followed by younger Vermonters with chronic health conditions. Federal guidelines are more complex, and government officials have decided that age group procedures are more effective and easier to understand.

Given the slow introduction of the vaccine, Britain is prioritizing the first doses of the vaccine, leaving the second shot – which offers greater protection – for a date later than previously planned. According to the CDC, second doses should be administered three weeks after the first for the Pfizer vaccine and four weeks for the Moderna vaccine.

While some in the United States have discussed the possibility, Levine has said he disagrees with the practice, calling it an ‘out-of-label’ use of the vaccine that leaves too many questions about its effectiveness.

Britain is also struggling with another problem that may soon come to Vermont: a new virus strain that is more transmissible than those currently spreading in the population.

Levine said the strain, against which the vaccine will still be effective, made its first appearance in Saratoga Springs, New York, and is expected to arrive in Vermont.

The state may need to double efforts to fight the virus, he said. The governor said he wants to wait to see what happens in other states before deciding to close personal training.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tests samples from states to determine where the more virulent strain of the coronavirus has spread. Georgia, Colorado, California, Florida and New York have all reported cases of the B.1.1.7. which, according to scientists, is likely to become the dominant form of Covid.

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17 650 doses of vaccines given

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