Vermont’s coronavirus case average has begun to tick up again because of growing caseloads in Rutland and Bennington counties, officials said at a press conference Tuesday.
Although the numbers are still 30% below the state’s most recent peak in mid-January, the numbers in the past two weeks have “plateaued,” said Commissioner Michael Pieciak, head of the Department of Financial Regulation, while they’re going down elsewhere.
The seven-day case average is rising, according to data from the Department of Health.
The state reported 59 new cases of Covid on Tuesday, lower than the average in the past seven days. One new death was added to the data, bringing the total to 186.
Vermont stands in contrast to declining cases across the Northeast and nationally. National cases have declined for four weeks in a row and are down 55% from their peak. Northeast cases are 51% below their peak.
Vermont is the only state in the Northeast with a forecast for rising cases, according to the state’s presentation. Pieciak attributed that to the developments in Rutland and Bennington counties.
“It’s going to anticipate cases remaining higher through much of February and March, so that’s that’s the forecast,” Pieciak said. “And as we’ve seen in the past, we certainly can do better than that, but the thing I took away from that forecast chart is really the fact that pretty much all of the region is trending down.”
Bennington and Rutland counties have had a 76% rise in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, while the rest of Vermont posted a 39% decrease in cases.
Hospitalizations and ICU usage in the two counties have risen, too. Fifty-three people are hospitalized for the virus, in line with recent weeks but a significant rise from a few months earlier.
Manchester in Bennington County has opened two new testing facilities to help deal with the surge in cases, said Dr. Mark Levine, state health commissioner.
He suggested that residents in Rutland County and Franklin County, where cases have started to rise, “go on the offensive” against the virus by following guidance and getting tested. He also said people should be tested as soon as they begin having symptoms because the main cause of delay for health department action is the time between symptoms beginning and a positive result.
Pieciak said the Covid situation in long-term care facilities has improved as outbreaks end and residents and staff receive the vaccine. Four long-term care facilities have ongoing outbreaks, down from more than 10 at the end of December.
He said data from Israel, which has now vaccinated 80% of people age 60 and older, suggest those vaccinations led to a reduction in severe disease and death, although the country also went into a lockdown at the same time.
Vaccination update
More than 65,000 Vermonters have received at least one dose of the vaccine, including more than 36,000 people with one dose and 28,000 people who have completed their second dose, said Mike Smith, secretary of the Agency of Human Services.
About 43,000 of the estimated 49,000 Vermonters age 75 and older have registered for the vaccine. About 32% of people 75 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, Smith said.
The federal allocation of vaccines to Vermont has risen in recent weeks, including an announcement Tuesday that the state will receive about 500 more doses per month, said Gov. Phil Scott. However, the federal government plans to begin counting the extra dose of the Pfizer vaccine in vials as part of its allocation, slightly reducing Vermont’s doses.
The state will soon begin a federal program to deliver doses directly to pharmacies. Walgreens will distribute doses directly to Vermonters 75 and older at the end of this week at 20 different locations, including four in southern Vermont, Smith said. That program will have 1,000 to 2,000 doses per week.
Vermont plans to add new vaccination clinics at Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend and Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, with more to come in the coming weeks, Smith said.
He said vaccinations have begun for homebound Vermonters, administered by home health agencies. People who are homebound but don’t have a health agency connection will be vaccinated after those who do.
The state has also held special clinics in an effort to reach people of color. About 100 people with limited English proficiency were vaccinated in those clinics, including both Vermonters 75 and older and members of their households who also have limited English, Levine said.
He said the clinics were part of the state’s general efforts to reach people who may need interpreters and cultural brokers. Asked about a lack of clarity about the state’s intention to vaccinate household members, as well as those 75 and older, Levine said, “I think we’ve been very consistent all along, and as we got more well defined we got more specific about that.”
“The age-banding is still the No. 1 strategy,” he said. “If you’re a member of a multigenerational family in the [Black, Indigenous, and people of color] community, you don’t get recognized for the opportunity to have the family vaccinated until you have an appropriate person in the age band.”
He said the state’s research showed that the younger people of color in those households are easier to reach at the same time that their older household members are being vaccinated, rather than at a later date.
Early data indicates people of color in Vermont are being vaccinated at lower rates than other residents, and advocates have expressed concern that the state’s efforts to prioritize them won’t be enough to overcome longstanding health disparities.
“The challenges to this community are quite unique. And I’ve described previously, the data has supported the fact that there have been outbreaks among members of this community,” Levine said. “And we really wanted to remedy that.”
Scott also commented on a new Senate bill that would prevent school districts from hiring in-school police officers, called school resource officers.
He said he’d oppose a statewide restriction and prefers to leave the decision to local school boards and superintendents. “From my perspective, school resource officers have been utilized successfully in Vermont in some areas. This is truly a local decision, and it should be left as such,” Scott said.
