This commentary is by Melanie Jannery, a resident of Burlington.
Gov. Phil Scott, you say again and again, and most recently on Sept. 21, that “this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” but I don’t believe you.
Just three days later, the data summary dated Sept. 24 revealed that 15 of the 16 new deaths in the two-week period since the last data summary on Sept. 10 were among vaccinated Vermonters.
However, it took me a lot of work to discover this, seeing that, on Sept. 24, 33 deaths among breakthrough cases were reported compared to 18 on Sept. 10, with a total of 21 deaths listed so far in September as of Sept. 24, compared to five listed in the Sept. 10 data summary.
I understand from your press conferences that you and other state officials hope to express to Vermonters new ways of looking at how well we are doing as a state compared to others during this upward trend. However, the science and data are showing that our state is compromised.
While you do not personally feel that masking indoors is always necessary, please hear that others do, including Dr. Mark Levine (the state health commissioner). Please put effort into helping evolve the law so that state and individual town officials have the option to put mask mandates and other precautionary measures into place outside of a state of emergency.
I understand that you feel that implementing another state of emergency would be an abuse of your power; however, finding ways to save lives and promote health in Vermonters by preventing death and illness is actually quite honorable.
Outside of the health consequences of death, Dr. Mark Levine says frequently that even if 10% of the Covid-positive cases ended up with long COVID, that would amount to a lot of people. The data summaries reflect that, in just one week’s time, over 500 fully vaccinated Vermonters tested positive, and this number has been steadily increasing.
As someone who is impacted daily by long COVID, 18 months out, when Dr. Levine states that long COVID could be with a person for a lifetime, I don’t hesitate to believe him. There is so much we do not know, as I continue to be medically compromised from being sick in March 2020 with the symptoms of Covid-19.
People are scared. People are dying. Others are facing what it’s like to become disabled. Service providers are tired.
Please use your power to evolve the ability to put masking in place as it is needed. Please stop saying this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated because it sets a trend of denial in our state of what’s really happening. Please state in your press conferences that losing 33 vaccinated Vermonters is not OK, and please present the data summaries in real time with totals of all the valuable information so people can see the data and present their concerns to others without needing to have conversations about doing the math.
And, please keep yourself and those around you safe by being the example by going back to wearing a mask at your indoor press conferences to help slow the spread in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control’s guidance and the Vermont Department of Health masking guidance.
Please begin to compare how Vermont is doing now to what we did last year when we had zero deaths in August, September and October 2020. Let’s get back there with your guidance of following the data and science as you had.
Mask mandates save lives and can prevent disabilities from long COVID if a person never gets sick. Remember that moment of discovery of the one Vermonter in Bennington back on March 7, 2020, who was isolated for everyone else’s safety when testing positive for Covid-19? I have watched your care and concern for Vermonters ever since that first Sunday press conference, but we need your stricter guidance, as in the two days after the last data summary, six more Vermonters died. In looking at the age ranges that these people fall into, it does not include only our oldest Vermonters.
I am a supporter of vaccines in addition to other safety protocols like masking, and double-masking when with others outside one’s household. I am someone whose health is compromised, aware that the vaccine’s layer of protection may be waning for Vermonters, as I personally tested negative for antibodies six months after being fully vaccinated with Moderna.
Thank you for your service.