Notes:

• Return of school and youth sports. Vermont has been the most cautious in the Nation. Moved into phase II 2 weeks ago and now feel comfortable allowing competition with additional safety measures.
  • Effective next Friday, February 12,^, school and recreational sports in interscholastic and youth leagues will resume. This includes basketball, hockey, indoor soccer and football, broomball, and volleyball.
  • No  more than 2 games in 7 days; minimum of 3 days in between games. Spectators are not allowed. Teams are encouraged to livestream games.
  • No evidence of Covid-19 exposure due to sports contact since December. This is attributable to the “arrive, play, leave” mentality. Targeted or wholesale restrictions will be put in place if necessary to ensure safety. Masks and social distancing are still essential.
• When numbers increased in November, contract traces found that Halloween parties had a major impact on the spread of the virus. This led to further restrictions during the holiday. The Superbowl is the most watched event of the year, but this year it will not be a typical event. The risk is too high. We’re only months away from vaccinated the highest-risk individuals—don’t let your guard down before we reach the light at the end of the tunnel. Please follow the guidance.
• As of yesterday, over 10 percent of eligible Vermonters received at least the first dose of the vaccine. This is an important milestone. With the recent news that our supply will increase in the next 3 weeks, and Johnson & Johnson seeking approval, we’re confident that Vermont will reach 20 percent faster than we reached 10 percent. Anticipate opening vaccine registration to the next group before the end of the month.
  • As of today, 58,219 eligible Vermonters are vaccinated again. A total of 33,700 received a first dose, and  24,500 have received their second dose. 21 percent of the 75 years and above age group have received their first dose of the vaccine. 33,100 have registered so far.
  • Added a clinic in Alburgh to serve that area and the upper part Grand Isle County, and a clinic in Beecher Falls to serve Essex County. Next week, we plan to open a clinic at Grace Cottage Hospital in Windham County, and Northwestern Hospital in Franklin County. The week after, Mount Ascutney Hospital as well. We are also working with other hospitals to establish vaccination clinics.
  • Vaccinated 50 people last night in Burlington at a clinic geared toward non-English-speaking individuals. Tonight, in Winooski, for another 50 people, we will continue to allocate more vaccines for the 75+ age group.
  • Recently received final CDC guidance on transporting vaccines for those who are homebound. The homebound program will receive its first allotment today, including agencies covering Caledonia, franklin, Orange, Windsor, and Windham Counties, with expanded distribution anticipated next week.
  • Vaccinations will begin immediately and will be administered through a partnership between local home health and EMS agencies. First partnerships include:
    • Rescue, Inc. EMS
    • Visiting nurse hospice for VT and NH
    • Caledonia home health and hospice care
    • Franklin County Home Health
    • Caledonia-Essex EMS
  • The first designated recipients are 75+ individuals who are homebound Vermonters in the service of local home health agencies, including VNA and others.
  • Vaccinating agencies will contact these individuals to arrange the vaccination visit. Please do not contact the home health agencies.
  • There are homebound community members who do not receive home health services but need vaccinations. Once this initial group of roughly 2,000 individuals are engaged, the service will expand to include additional individuals. Numerous partners and municipalities are currently discussing how best to identify the additional individuals and to create the second phase of outreach.
  • Eligible individuals in group 1A include healthcare workers. Anyone in this group will continue to have eligibility for vaccines. Hospitals will continue to receive vaccines to distribute to those individuals who missed their appointments. There will not be additional positions added to this group
  • There will be some overlap while transitioning from one group to another, but the 1A group will not lose eligibility.
  • About 2,500 individuals are currently in the 1A group. Hospitals predict they can administer 880 doses that will be allocated next week.
  • There is no waiting list for extra doses of the vaccine. The primary goal is to prevent wasting vaccines. If there are extra doses, there will be a plan in place to allocate them to individuals who are in the 1A group or 75+
  • Seven day case numbers continue to trend slightly downward. 107 cases today and a 7-day average in the low 130s. Our 7-day positivity rate is 1.9 percent.
  • Testing is the first step in the continued effort to stopping the spread of the virus. There is increased virus activity in Bennington County that could be happening anywhere. The greatest cause is community transmission at worksites and throughout communities.
  • There is an encouraging downturn in cases as of late.
  • Today’s hospitalization number is 55; down from the 60s. The number of Covid-19 patients in the ICU is 16.
  • The B117 strain of the virus, first detected in the U.K., has been detected in 33 states. We expect to see it in Vermont.
  • 71 percent of long-term care facilities have not seen an outbreak or seen any cases of Covid-19. In similar facilities did see outbreaks, staff and residents saw a steep decline in incidences since December.
  • Vermont’s death toll is still the lowest in the Nation.
  • Put a  plan in place within 48 hours to get 1099s in the hands of those who really need them, ensured protection for those who may be impacted, and facilitate an “after action” plan. The administration is working to make this right and implement plans for the future.
  • The administration believes that, constitutionally, both bodies have to say no to an executive order. Senator Bray expressed interest in making the executive orders work.
  • The administration is balancing restrictions and new freedoms. Currently only one state has loosened quarantine mandates after traveling. Evidence-based data is necessary to make abrupt decisions about loosening restrictions. The hope is that most states will work uniformly. The ultimate takeaway is “stay tuned.”
  • Vermonters with preexisting conditions are a priority, but 1A and 75+ individuals will still be at the front of the list.
• Education update: Agency of Education and Department of Health acknowledge the impact of Covid-19 on Vermont’s kids.
  • Weekly PCR surveillance testing is not available because of snow days.
  • Working to understand the impact of remote learning on students to focus effort toward improving their experiences.
  • Range of student outcomes—more students struggling or substantially disengaged than usual. Typically high-achieving students are considerably more stressed than usual.
  • Disengagement is a major concern. Many students are unwilling to attend remote classes, even when prompted by a truant officer.
  • Academic assessment for students in grades 2 through 8 showed 80percent proficiency in math and 66percent in reading in January. There are groups of disengaged students who have fallen below the radar and were not assessed.
  • Physical distancing has become emotional distancing. It will take a coordinated effort to remedy this challenge.