By Patrick Mcardle
RUTLAND HERALD
With new COVID case numbers continuing to be high in Vermont, Gov. Phil Scott encouraged all Vermonters to get vaccination booster shots and called a special session of the Legislature for Monday for “the sole purpose of passing legislation narrowly tailored to grant municipalities the authority to implement time limited mask mandates, if they choose.”
On Wednesday, Scott directed the Agency of Human Services to implement a “Universal Booster Program,” making anyone who has received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine eligible for a booster two months after their first dose and anyone who received a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine eligible for a booster six months after completing their initial two-shot vaccination.
By email, Will Terry, a spokesman for the Vermont Agency of Human Services, said the most important action every Vermonter can take to protect themselves and to help prevent further spread of the virus is to be fully vaccinated and to receive a booster shot.
“The initial (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidance for boosters set a prioritization of conditions and situations, such as at-risk workplaces. Because of the high vaccination rate in the state (of Vermont,) and the rate of booster shots we have thus far achieved, the governor, in consultation with the health department, determined it is appropriate to broaden the eligibility criteria. By eliminating the risk conditions and focusing on eligibility by age and the time since being fully vaccinated, we can move faster to get all eligible Vermonters the booster shots they need to maintain protection against the virus,” he said.
According to the Vermont COVID dashboard online, the Vermont Department of Health identified 245 new cases of COVID on Tuesday. The dashboard uses information collected the day before it’s posted so Wednesday’s posting reflects Tuesday’s numbers.
To make getting booster shots easier, online registration will be simplified. The changes, which went into effect on Wednesday morning, make scheduling a booster shot easier because the patient doesn’t have to check boxes to indicate the various categories that previously made a person younger than 65 eligible like being employed at an at-risk workplace.
State run vaccination clinics are allowing walk-in appointments.
Scott said there was evidence from the past 30 days that indicates boosters are preventing COVID in Vermonters in the at-risk age groups which reduces hospitalization.
“At this point, we need to shift to getting everyone boosted to help reduce the disruption of higher cases and minimize transmission to at-risk Vermonters, particularly through the winter months,” Scott said.
In recent days, with new COVID cases in Vermont hitting almost 600 on one occasion, Democratic leaders have called on the governor to bring back a mask mandate.
A second release from Thursday said Scott was offering the special legislative session on Monday as a “compromise.”
In a letter sent to Rep. Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and Becca Balint, D-Windham County, president pro tempore of the Vermont Senate, Scott said he would not support — and would veto — any additional measures the Legislature sought to pass during this special session.
“At this phase in the pandemic, with more than 20 months of experience, broad, top-down mandates and the overuse of executive emergency power is not appropriate and counterproductive to our ultimate path forward, which is getting more people vaccinated and boosted,” said Scott. “COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon, and perhaps could be with us for decades, which is why we need to use the experience and knowledge we’ve gained managing the virus to continue moving forward.”
A news release from Scott’s office sent on Wednesday said about 50 percent of Vermonters older than the age of 65 have received a booster.
patrick.mcardle @rutlandherald.com
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