By Holly Ramer And Lisa Rathke
Associated Press
Here are the latest developments regarding the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic throughout New England:
New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s first shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine have arrived, and will be split between hospitals and sites serving other health care providers and first responders, officials said Tuesday.
The 13 sites, along with mobile units, will start offering vaccines Dec. 29, said Beth Daly, chief of the state Bureau of Infectious Disease Control. In addition to 24,200 doses of the Moderna vaccine, the state was allocated 8,875 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week, with most of those going to nursing homes, she said.
While the numbers are in flux, the state expects to get about 9,000 doses of each vaccine each week. Officials hope provide the initial shots to the 100,000 people in the first priority group — health care workers, nursing home residents and staff and first responders — by the end of January, she said.
“It’s going to take us several months to get all who want to be vaccinated vaccinated, and this means we must remain vigilant in the steps we take as individuals to prevent COVID-19,” she said.
Daly said the Department of Health and Human Services is working with first responder agencies to register workers for the vaccine, and will communicate more broadly when it is ready to begin vaccinating ambulatory care providers. For future phases, there also will be detailed communication about eligibility and an online registration process, she said.
Schools testing: Students, teachers and school staff will be given priority when it comes to testing for the virus after the holidays, Gov. Chris Sununu said Tuesday.
“We want to make sure that students that may require a test to get back into school aren’t being held back three, four, five, six days or even a week while they’re awaiting those results,” he said. “We want to make sure those kids can get back to class as quickly as possible.”
Appointments will be available within 24 hours for symptomatic staff, students and teachers, he said.
Home for the holidays: In their last news conference before Christmas, public health officials and Sununu urged residents to stay disciplined in preventing the spread of the virus.
Dr. Ben Chan, the state epidemiologist, cautioned against gatherings that extend beyond one’s household, and said those who do gather for the holidays should wear masks and stay 6 feet (2 meters) apart. Sununu said he has only been visiting his parents for five or 10 minutes at a time, and “Christmas and Christmas Eve will be the same way.”
We’re not going to mandate, we’re not going to force people to celebrate their holiday in a certain way in their own homes. We don’t do that here,” he said. “But we are asking them to be disciplined and make good choices for themselves and their loved ones.”
The state has deemed a certain out-of-state visitor as an “essential worker,” however.
“We did it for the Easter Bunny, and we want to make sure Santa knows that there will be nothing holding back here,” he said. “He will be here on time, much like the vaccine has been.”
The numbers: More than 37,000 people have tested positive for the virus in New Hampshire, with 624 cases announced Tuesday that included results from several days previous days. The number of deaths stood at 656.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire has risen over the past has risen over the past two weeks from 689 new cases per day on Dec. 7 to 788 new cases per day on Dec. 21.
Vermont
The veterans hospital in White River Junction has started vaccinations with the Moderna vaccine.
Dr. Brett Rusch, executive director of the White River Junction VA Healthcare System, said in an email to staff on Monday that “hope arrived in a box containing frigid vials of a highly effective vaccine.”
The hospital is one of 113 VA medical centers around the country to get the first limited supply of the Moderna vaccine after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized it for emergency use, officials said.
“Yes, we need to continue our vigilance in battling this virus – social distancing, hand washing, masks, avoiding gatherings. But rest assured, hope really is on the horizon,” Rusch said in the email. The goal is offer vaccines to all veterans and employees who want it as supplies in increase, he said.
COVID restrictions: Gov. Phil Scott announced a slight relaxation of the restrictions on social gatherings to allow two trusted households to gather over the holidays as Vermont’s coronavirus case numbers have stabilized, although they are still higher than the administration would like to see.
“It’s been a little over a month since we took significant steps to slow the rising spread of the virus. And it’s clearly working,” Scott said at his bi-weekly virus briefing on Friday.
The state has seen several days of fewer than 100 cases, which is still high but shows vast improvement, he said.
Gathering with only one trusted household will be allowed from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2, with other stringent measures still in place, Scott said. Gathering with more than one trusted household on different days is not permitted, he said. And if one of the two households is from out of state, everyone must quarantine for seven days and get a negative test or quarantine for 14 days afterward, he said.
There is a risk of virus transmission when people gather, especially indoors without masks, he said. Following the state’s guidance, being smart and using common sense is the best way to limit the risk, he said.
“While we’re providing a narrow path to very small holiday gatherings, you really need to think about whether it fits your family or your situation, especially if you’re over 65, have preexisting conditions or work with vulnerable populations such as in health care,” Scott said.
Scott also announced that residents may participate in outdoor recreation with others outside of their households provided that they can physically distance and wear a mask.
“But you’ve got to follow the ‘arrive, play, leave’ approach, meaning mingling afterwards is not allowed,” he said. “You don’t have to look any further than the hockey outbreak in central Vermont to see how dangerous one tailgate party can be.”
Starting on Dec. 26, school-based and youth recreational sports teams may begin practices with skills, strength and conditioning drills with no contact and physically distancing and mask-wearing at all times, Scott said. Adult recreational leagues and spectators are still prohibited.
The numbers: Vermont reported more than 60 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to date to more than 6,600.
A total of 36 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 with nine in intensive care. The state reported one new death for a total of 112.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Vermont did not increase over the past two weeks, going from 112 new cases per day on Dec. 7 to 96.71 new cases per day on Dec. 21.
The latest average positivity rate in Vermont is 1.97%. State health departments are calculating positivity rate differently across the country, but for Vermont, the AP calculates the rate by dividing new cases by test specimens using data from The COVID Tracking Project.
The seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate in Vermont did not increase over the past two weeks, going from 2.35% on Dec. 7 to 1.97% on Dec. 21.
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