GOVERNOR SCOTT COVID-19 PRESS CONFERENCE 5.7.21

Innkeepers are a busy bunch. To save you time, VLA attends Governor Scott’s Covid-19 Press Conferences and takes notes for you. Below is the summary from 5.7.21

  • Thank you nurses and happy nurses’ week. The best way Vermonters can show gratitude is by signing up for a vaccine.
  • Bear Ridge Speedway is offering 150 Johnson & Johnson vaccines, no sign up needed, from 4–7 pm tomorrow. Your admission is free if you choose to stay for the race or  you can get free pass to a later race.
  • Devil’s Bowl Speedway also has 180 vaccines available for walk-ins from 4–7:30 pm tomorrow.
  • Vaccines are our ticket out of this pandemic—it’s going to take everyone, including young Vermonters who are 18 to 30 years of age, to sign up and get vaccinated.
  • Education update from Secretary French:
    • Completed weekly school staff surveillance testing program last week.
    • Launching a pilot surveillance testing program focused on students this month. Costs will be covered by federal grants.
    • Students age 8 and above are eligible for testing. Testing will be voluntary, free to families, and subject to parental consent.
    • Results will be reported to families via secure online portal; positive tests will be reported to families via direct call from the Health Department.
    • Still working out details for the summer and fall, but the pilot program is set to move forward this month and potentially test up to 6,300 students. School districts participating in the pilot program include:
      • Burlington School District
      • Grand Isle Supervisory Union
      • Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union in Hardwick
      • Caledonia Central Supervisory Union in Danville
      • Two Rivers Supervisory Union in Ludlow
      • Southwest Vermont Technical Center in Bennington
    • Not every school in each of these districts will be participating. Grand Isle expressed interest in implementing a testing program of their own. Other schools were selected to ensure geographic diversity.
    • Issued clarification to spring sports guidance relative to the new directive on when to wear a mask outside.
      • Student athletes participating in low-contact or non-contact spring sports such as tennis, track and field, baseball, and softball are no longer required to wear a mask as long as 6 feet of physical distance can be maintained.
      • Student athletes participating in moderate-contact spring sports such as lacrosse and ultimate frisbee must continue to wear a mask at all times.
      • Spectators do not need to wear a mask outside as long as 6 ft. of physical distance is maintained from anyone outside of the household. Spectators of indoor sports must wear a mask at all times.
    • Publishing a FAQ document later today to address questions relative to graduations and end-of-year celebrations.
    • Positive trend toward more in-person instruction across the State.
  • Secretary Smith:
    • Vaccine registration and walk-in available is open to people who live out of state but work in Vermont as of today, regardless of occupation.
    • We hope to hear from CDC about emergency use approval for the use of the Pfizer for the 12–15 age group. Registration eligibility will open for this age group immediately upon approval from the CDC.  Families with children in this age group will be eligible to go to any site that offers the Pfizer vaccine, there will be school-based sites to make vaccinations more convenient for students, and all sites will be open to the public. More information is coming next week.
    • Vaccine clinics will be located at Northern Vermont University in Lyndon today and at Castleton University tomorrow.
    • Drive-through clinic at the Tunbridge fair grounds is operational today. You can sign up online or call (855) 722-7878 to make an appointment.
    • Doses for walk-ins will be available and registration will open soon for drive-through clinics in Highgate at the airport on May 13, and in Lancaster, NH on May 21.
    • Tomorrow and Sunday, EMS ambulance services will be in Essex and Caledonia Counties hosting mobile clinics at 9 locations. You can sign up online or call to make an appointment. Some doses will be available for walk-ins.
    • Similar “barnstorming” events are being planned in other counties, including Windham County next week. More details to come next week.
    • Next week, those who have signed up for food distribution can be vaccinated at the site. Vermonters can still sign up and make appointments at vaccine clinics and pharmacies throughout the State.
    • As of this morning, 360,200 Vermonters have been vaccinated against Covid-19. 104,900 have received their first does, and 255,300 have received their first and last doses.
    • Slight delay in the CDC vaccine reporting to our IT system that impacts our vaccine dashboard. The problem is on their end and should be resolved and updated by tomorrow.
    • May is a very busy awareness month for human services. Take a moment to remember Vermonters who struggled or are struggling and celebrate those who support Vermonters in need. Thank you to essential workers. Thank you to nurses and happy nurses’ week.
    • 1 in 5 adults in Vermont live with a mental health challenge. If you’re struggling, please reach out for help. Call the National suicide hotline at 1(800) 273-8255 or text the crisis line at 741-741VT.
  • Dr. Levine’s health update:
    • Well under 100 cases reported daily in the past week.
    • Positivity rate is at 1.2%.
    • 17 hospitalizations and 4 in the ICU today.
    • As of yesterday, Vermont’s 7-day case rate is 84 cases per 100,000, compared to the national average of about 97 cases per 100,000.
    • All Vermont counties are performing similarly in terms of lowering the number of cases.
    • Trends are good but we’re not done. Pay attention to basic prevention—wear a mask, keep your distance, avoid crowds, wash your hands, etc.
    • Think about this: if variants, especially B-117 (dominant strain in the U.S. accounting for about 60% of Covid-19 infections), were evading the vaccine, we would not be seeing downward trends. For now, the variants are clearly not evading the vaccine. We’re hopeful that won’t change. Those who are getting vaccinated are doing the right thing, but don’t throw away your masks.
    • Science says that the vaccines are so good, and the results are so favorable, that if we continue vaccinations we’ll reach our targets and return to normal as quickly as possible.
    • Thank you to every person who has gotten their vaccine—you’re the reason why we’re excelling in Vermont and New England.

 

Questions/Comments:

  • Will younger Vermonters choosing not to get vaccinated delay the July 4 reopening?
    • The Vermont Forward Plan is still on track. We’re doing everything we can to meet people where they are and make it as easy as possible to get vaccinated.
  • Is there a plan in place to fill vacancies in state employment?
    • We are no longer freezing the hiring process and have a long way to go. There may be opportunities for remote work going forward but there will also be positions that need to return to work in person. We won’t return to where we were pre-pandemic. We’ve discovered more viable ways to bring people back to work and back into communities.
  • Many of the walk-in clinic opportunities are administering Johnson and Johnson vaccines or first doses. People are encouraged to go back to the place where they got their first dose to receive their second dose.
  • Wait for science to weigh in before attempting to get a vaccine months after receiving a different kind of vaccine. We should have answers about boosters and more protection within the next year.
  • Some states are declining allocations. What are Vermont’s weekly allocations? Are we accepting them and using them?
    • Other states have more supply than demand. Vermont is still taking a full allocation of about 25,000 doses a week and asking for more.
  • Senator Randy Brock is sponsoring a bill to make unemployment fraud a felony. Would you support that bill?
    • Have not looked at the bill but generally support making unemployment fraud a felony.
    • Many of these crimes are coming from outside of the country.
  • What would qualify an independent pharmacy to distribute the vaccine?
    • They would have to register and get approved and there would need to be enough vaccines to allocate.  There is one independent pharmacy registered now.
  • Is there a plan to have primary health care providers distribute the vaccine during regular appointments?
    • Pilot programs are set to start with independent doctors within the next couple of weeks. There will likely a be a transition to primary care vaccinations.
    • Smaller primary care facilities can’t store large allocations of vaccines. They would have an easier time with Johnson and Johnson.
  • 15–20% of the bills signed thus far have been COVID-related. We have to continue supporting government and making changes along the way.
  • House and Senate are beginning to review a proposal to return to the State House without an option for the public to attend.
    • The ticket to normalcy is getting vaccinated. No reason why the General Assembly can’t go back into session after the emergency order is lifted. There may be a hybrid—it is good to have committee hearings recorded. But they can’t close the doors to the people’s house.
  • Is there an opportunity for people to get vaccinated at fairs?
    • We talked about that this morning and believe people can expect to see vaccine clinics at fairs this summer.
  • It is the medical community’s believe that Covid-19 precautions have mitigated flu season. Wearing masks more often and keeping up with these precautions as a norm post-covid is a cultural decision.
  • The Administration has not received information about Walgreens and other pharmacies in Vermont wasting doses. The data doesn’t support that.
  • Is there a plan to bring vaccines directly to work places?
    • Yes, we’re engaging with facilities to make vaccinations easier for employees. We’ll share who the businesses are as plans progress if they’re comfortable with that.
  • Governor Scott would be comfortable opening Vermont’s borders for people who are vaccinated and willing to comply with guidelines. There will need to be restrictions on both sides.
  • Recent decisions about school construction exceeded health bounds and took into consideration other factors in consultation with EPA and other consultants.
  • Are vaccinated people likely to carry enough of a viral load to infect others?
    • Data continues to support that people who are vaccinated do not carry enough of the virus to infect others. Testing of nasal specimens from the original vaccine trials are very encouraging—they indicate that the vaccine is protecting people from the virus and those who are vaccinated aren’t able to generate the same level of viral load in their nose because of the vaccine. We should expect to hear more soon.
  • Is the State contemplating clinics for visitors or tourists to get the J&J?
    • Vaccine hesitancy could be a problem.
    • People who work in Vermont but live in another state are now eligible to get vaccinated in Vermont.