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 1/11/22.
Governor Scott announced that the pilot program with NIH & Amazon partnership for sending rapid test kits directly to homes will launch its website tomorrow. He addressed the change to the school testing program that was announced last Friday, saying that this pivot, which seemed abrupt to some, was a considered course correction based on the presently known science and data of the Omicron variant that made this shift essential, and, contrary to some misinformation, will increase access to testing, quicker results, and increased notification. PCR tests take too long based on the Omicron transmission
Notes:
- Governor Phil Scott:
- Pilot program being launched tomorrow to send rapid test direct to homes; 250,000 kits; no more than 2 kits (4 tests) per household; expected to go quickly; this is in additional to President Biden’s initiative to send test to Americans, expected to begin late this month and also in addition to rapid tests devoted to schools.
- Registered childcare programs eligible to implement Test to Stay and can sign up for kits through Dept. of Children and Families.
- PCR tests take too long based on the Omicron transmission and not as effective post Omicron; based on science and data Vermont is changing guidance on dealing with Covid in schools allowing for more testing and quicker results. When a positive case is detected in a child enrolled in school, everyone in the class will be notified and rapid tests distributed to those signed up for Test to Stay.
- Cases expected to increase for a while. Get booster including 12 and older. Vaccination is best protection for self and others. Wear a mask, staying home when sick, and use testing as tool.
- Secretary Dan French:
- Shift in mitigation strategies announced last Friday.
- Concerns about ability of school staff to sustain contact tracing––after holiday and with new Omicron spreading so much faster could not keep up; change was needed and nature of Omicron meant having to adjust quickly.
- Changes to contact tracing include new response notification to parents that includes providing for home test kits if signed up for Test to Stay.
- Schools distribute antigen test to families/staff for administration at home.
- Response notification and testing coordinated with guidelines on quarantine and isolation.
- Additional test kits to school this week; transition to new policy once adequate supplies are available expected later this week.
- Working on tools for issuing notification.
- School attendance waivers––going remote does not count as an in-session day; closed more days than allowed must apply for a waiver; soon to publish waiver guide.
- Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine:
- Most disruptive month yet. Expect pandemic will eventually become endemic and a transition period help us get to a time where we live with this virus.
- Data and science basis for real time approach.
- Difficulty for children and hence their families.
- Omicron–highly contagious, shorter incubation period, spreads rapidly; less severe especially among youth
- Revamping contact tracing in schools to be more expansive in who gets notified and rapid test will provide results to isolate those need to stay home and limit spread.
- Goal is to keep schools open; current tools are less effective; new policy will lessen burden on school staff; a positive case in a classroom now means all students are considered close contacts; faster and more comprehensive approach; PCR has lost much of its value moving to antigen testing more responsive approach.
- School gives test to parents to administer; test can still be administered in school when child not feeling well.
- Unvaccinated to test daily for 5 consecutive days and if negative can stay in class.
- Asymptomatic vaccinated students who do not need to quarantine but may want to test days 3, 4, or 5 after testing positive.
- Vaccinated or unvaccinated staff and students identified as close contacts outside of school.
- Shifts responsibilities to families who can know status before kids arrive at school.
- This combined with other mitigation efforts keep schools safe.
- Reminded of guidelines:
- Isolation – period time following positive test or when systems began; now 5 days followed by 5 days of mask-wearing if:
- Never had systems
- Systems have improved and had no fever past 24 hours
- Recommend two negative antigen testing at least 24 hours apart beginning no earlier than day 4
- Notify close contacts
- Healthvt.gov/coveid19positive
- Quarantine – follows exposure to an infected person (may or may not become infected), no need to quarantine if:
- Fully vaccinated and had booster shot
- Fully vaccinated and not yet eligible for booster
- Fully vaccinated and enrolled in school
- Wear mask 10 days and test on day 5 recommended
- Others to quarantine 5 days if no symptoms and wear a wear mask for 5 more days:
- Recommend 1 negative PCR or LAMP test on or after day 5, or 2 negative antigen tests at least 24 hours apart beginning no earlier than day 4
- Report positive home results healthvermont.gov/reportresults
- Recommends continue wearing mask and using N95 or KN95 are best; if not available add surgical mask under cloth mask; not single ply masks
- Therapeutic treatments for those at high risk most effective within first 5 days; talk with your healthcare provider; more info Healthvt.gov/covid19-treatment.
- Isolation – period time following positive test or when systems began; now 5 days followed by 5 days of mask-wearing if:
- Dr. Rebecca Bell:
- Covid cases rose exponentially last few weeks putting strain on healthcare providers.
- Pediatric community supports new policy.
- School nurses have tools for testing in schools and can provide take-home testing.
- Testing shifting from school testing to home setting.
- Shortening isolation period.
- Test for tots.
- Availability of home test kits; challenge remains as testing not available under two.
- Continue masking and using testing as a tool.
- Visit http://aapvt.org/ for more info.
- Under 2 symptoms are very similar to other respiratory viruses; contact child’s healthcare provided if concerned; encourage flu shot over 6 mos.
- Secretary Samuelson:
- 50% 18+ have had booster
- 5-11 48% fully vaccinated
- Boosters opened to ages 12-16; 12+ can get booster 5 mos. after second shot of Pfizer or Moderna and after 2 mos. for J&J.
- Expanded vaccination clinics and by end of Feb. more than 80 school clinics and as many 30 winter events clinics throughout the state; businesses, civic groups, community organizations can host a clinic. https://www.healthvermont.gov/covid-19/your-community 855-722-7878; goal is to make it easy.
- Test for Tots – extends Test to Stay for 2-5 enrolled in registered childcare program; allows for children and staff to continue to attend while quarantining due to close contact as long as they test daily at home with negative results
- More than 470 childcare programs are participating.
- Approx. 12,000 tests going out to childcare providers and nearly 50,000 masks.
- General public – PCR testing at more than 30 sites across the state as we transition to more rapid tests.
- Know when to test – symptomatic, close contact, tested positive and want to end isolation, plan to visit someone vulnerable.
- PCT testing issue – results delayed in reporting by 4-5 days (Jan. 5 & 6 testing dates); turnaround now back to 3-4 days.
- Public dashboard will be updated expected on Wednesday.
- Hospitals – monitoring capacity closely; subacute beds opened 127 additional beds with 91 open and available now.
- Importance of having health insurance: https://portal.healthconnect.vermont.gov/VTHBELand/welcome.action
- Commissioner Mike Pieciak:
-
- Reimbursement for at-home tests expanded with insurance companies; check with your insurance company.
- Website update tomorrow.
- Cases continue to increase up 70% last 7 days; about 275% last 14 days; 380,000 reported cases in NE this week.
- Est. 96% all new cases due to Omicron.
- Long-term care facilities – no outbreak particularly large this week.
- Prevalent cases across country expected to increase over 1 million a day; may slow down end of January/early February; higher next 3-4 weeks.
- VT hospitalizations 7-day average passed peak of Delta surge; ICU remains flat this past week with 80% of those unvaccinated patients.
- Areas with high boosted status showing less severity in hospitalization.
- 58 beds available; 11 ICU beds available statewide.
- 7 deaths this month; 487 total; VT lowest per capita in deaths.
- Last 6 weeks 24x more likely to dies from Covid-19 if not vaccinated.
Questions:
- Mail -delivered kits and temperature recommendation for storage at 35.6 -86 degrees
- Levine – Reached out to companies and FDA and there is concern about temperature for prolonged periods of time but indicated not to be overly concerned due to weather and mail delivery; we will continue to pursue.
- Dept. of Health website will host a link for ordering at-home testing live at approx. 10 a.m. tomorrow.
- Most reporting responsibility on families; cooperation is a risk; encourage people to be honest and transparent.
- Pension task force
- Scott – Encouraging to see forward progress; concerns still the same – be viable; sustainable; making structural changes; look forward to seeing it still has a long way to go.
- Pieciak – legislature needs to take a good look at it and take it to the next step.
- Testing site scams
- Scott – not heard anything about it; keep an eye.
- Concerns about projected cases and impact on workforce
- Scott – Main concern is about hospitalization and providing essential services.
- Levine – not a question of if but when and that is why it is so important to get vaccinated; workforce interruption may not come all at same time.
- NEA concerns about testing access
- Concerns on supply; more tests in society as a whole; working on modeling to keep supply in schools.
- Delay in test results
- IT state system issue and have now put a process in place to be notified if it should happen again.
- Will high quality masks be available to the public in VT?
- Working on mask distribution that is beyond cloth masks and surgical masks and at moment focused on areas of higher need; anticipate available at locations testing sites, vaccination sites, and human services field offices in the coming weeks.
- Is state confident there will be enough testing kits available for school needs?
- Yes, and continually trying to acquire more tests and manage supply; doing the best we can, confident have enough to get through next few weeks.
- Percentage of schools closed because of staffing issues or positive cases?
- Don’t have quantifiable number at this point
- Is Omicron more dangerous for older people?
- Can make assumption that elderly and more vulnerable are at higher risk; Omicron does not seem to be as impactful in lung tissue as other variants.
- Will you consider vaccine mandate given recent increase seen in death rate ?
- Scott – Personal choice; personal responsibility. Get fully vaccinated to protect yourself and others.
- How do symptom present themselves in kids 2 and under; how worried should parents be about children under 2 getting infected?
- Symptoms presented a lot like other respiratory viral infections — fever, not feeling well, not drinking fluids; toddlers seeing upper airway affects rather than lower which we haven’t seen in Vermont; parents need to act as they would entering into a flu season and expect disruption –– children getting sick, providers getting sick, missed work.
- Are hospitalizations turned into Covid cases after being admitted for other conditions?
- Inconclusive date but under review