Data shows COVID surge in CT
Rising cases affect even municipalities with highest vaccine rates
The number of Connecticut municipalities considered to have high COVID case rates has nearly doubled in the past week, and the state data shows, even the most-vaccinated communities have become vulnerable to the latest wave of infections.
The state’s color-coded map updated on Wednesday showed 110 municipalities were in the red, up from 67 last Thursday. The designation means the community has seen an average of more than 15 daily cases per 100,000 people over the last two weeks.
Many of the municipalities now in red have high vaccination rates among residents.
In Fairfield, where close to 68 percent of residents are fully vaccinated, the town reported 103 new cases last week, according to the state data. In Greenwich, 70 new cases were repo0rted this past week, despite about 67 percent of the population being fully vaccinated.
In New Milford, where more than 70 percent of residents are fully vaccinated, there was an average of nearly 22 daily cases per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks.
East Lyme and Waterford both show vaccination rates above 70 percent, but each saw averages of more than 20 daily cases per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks.
Cases have surged even more in some areas of the state where vaccination rates have lagged behind, the data shows.
In Killingly, a Windham County town with about 17,000 people and fewer than 55 percent of them have been vaccinated, there has been an average of 54 daily cases per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
In nearby Sterling, where less than half of the residents are fully vaccinated, there has been an average of nearly 70 cases per 100,000 people in the last two weeks.
Statewide, the average number of new cases has doubled in the last two weeks, while hospital admissions for the virus are also again on the rise.
There were 1,550 breakthrough cases and six deaths statewide in the past week in residents who have been fully vaccinated, state data showed.
All eight of Connecticut’s counties are listed as areas of high transmission of the virus on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s color-coded map, which is based on slightly different metrics than what Connecticut uses for its map. Under CDC guidelines based on the map, masks are recommended across Connecticut when in public indoor places, regardless of vaccination status.
While many Connecticut communities have lifted their indoor mask mandates in recent weeks, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said his city is keeping the requirement in place.
“We clearly anticipate cases going up. It’s wintertime. It’s the holidays,” Elicker said this week.
At the same time, Trumbull reintroduced its universal masking requirement in town buildings this week for employees and visitors.
Demand for the vaccine has grown since federal regulators last week approved the COVID booster for all adults and children as young as 5 years old can now receive the PfizerBioNTech vaccine.
The number of shots administered weekly has gone up since mid-October, state figures show, with just under 138,000 administered in the most recent week of data.
More than 21 percent of those who are fully vaccinated have received either a booster shot or an additional dose of a vaccine, according to CDC data. The data does not separate the number of people who have received a booster shot with those who have received a third dose of the vaccine because they are immunocompromised.
About 59,000 or 21 percent of Connecticut residents between the ages of 5 and 11 have started the vaccination process since they became eligible on Nov. 2, the state data shows. At least 65 children in that age group have now received their second course of shots, according to state figures.
In some towns — mostly wealthier suburbs — nearly half of the youngest children have started vaccination, according to state data. In two smaller towns — Derby and Salisbury — more than half of children age 5 to 11 have begun vaccination.
Bridgeport, the state’s largest city, ranks last in Connecticut with less than 5 percent of its estimated 14,000 children between the ages of 5 and 11 starting the vaccination process. Rural towns like Bozrah, North Canaan and Windham also show low rates of vaccine uptake among young children, along with the cities of Waterbury and New Britain.