Signs of improvement in COVID-19 fight
Hospitalizations drop; first health workers get Moderna vaccine
Connecticut showed slight signs of improvement in its fight against COVID-19, state numbers show, even as coronavirus-linked deaths continue to mount.
Gov. Ned Lamont on Monday announced 4,595 new COVID-19 cases since Friday out of 88,731 tests, for a rate of 5.2% — the lowest the state has reported on a given day this month. Connecticut’s seven-day positivity rate now stands at 6.1%, down from 7% on Dec. 11 though still much higher than was typical in previous months.
“We’re not out of the woods, but perhaps things are stabilizing,” Lamont said.
Meanwhile, the state now has 1,143 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, down 24 from Friday and a drop of more than 100 since early last week. Before this recent decrease, hospitalizations had increased steadily since mid-September.
Despite those encouraging signs, however, Connecticut recorded 95 more coronavirus-linked deaths over the weekend and has now reported 232 over the past week — most in a seven-day period since May.
Trends in COVID-19 deaths typically trail those in cases and hospitalizations by several weeks, given the significant lag between when people are typically diagnosed with the disease and when they eventually die from it.
Connecticut’s slight improve
ment in COVID-19 trends comes as outbreaks in many other states continue to intensify. The United States has now seen 318,563 COVID-19 deaths, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.
Lamont said he is concerned about potential COVID-19 spread in the coming weeks tied to Christmas travel.
“My strong recommendation, especially for older folks, is to stay close to home,” Lamont said. “Zoom with grandma and grandpa and enjoy a really nice holiday in a few months after they’ve been vaccinated.”
First residents given Moderna vaccine
Lamont on Monday instructed the state Department of Public Health to add the Moderna coronavirus vaccine to Connecticut’s vaccination program — and later in the morning, the first Connecticut residents received the first doses of the vaccine.
Hartford HealthCare said in a media release that it received the first shipment of Moderna doses at about 10:30 a.m. Monday morning and began vaccinating health care workers before noon. The hospital system planned to use the Moderna doses to publicly vaccinate 20 health care workers on Monday.
Mandy Delgado, a critical care nurse at Hartford Hospital and the first health worker to receive the Moderna vaccine, said she was “excited” to receive the vaccine after months of feeling “exhausted [and] overwhelmed.”
“What it means to me is maybe we can normalize ourselves once again,” she said. “I’m confident and I’m positive that this vaccine is going to work.”
Lamont’s office said in a press release that the state expects to receive 63,300 doses of the Moderna vaccine this week. That’s in addition to an expected 24,375 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was the first coronavirus vaccine to receive authorization in the U.S.
Both the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccine require two doses — spaced apart by 28 days and by 21 days, respectively — in order to be effective.
The governor formally signed off on the Moderna vaccine after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized the vaccine for emergency use. The same day, the science subcommittee of Connecticut’s COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Group reviewed that authorization and recommended the governor permit its use in the state.
The Moderna vaccine was the second in the country to be authorized for use, after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine went through the same process one week earlier.
Connecticut began receiving doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Dec. 14, and hospitals began vaccinating front-line staff the same day. Now, with two vaccines approved, the state will begin receiving shipments of both vaccines each week.
Until the end of January, both the Moderna and the Pfizer doses are expected to be use solely to vaccinate health care workers and nursing home residents, who were placed at the highest priority to receive the first doses.
Once those populations are vaccinated, the state will begin vaccinating others as well. An advisory group for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that states next vaccinate teachers, first responders, grocery story employers and people over the age of 74.
The state aims to vaccinate everyone who wants the vaccine by early fall 2021.
Connecticut’s vaccination timeline assumed from the start that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines would be authorized for use. However, a hiccup in the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine, which has led to fewer doses arriving this week in states across the country, has potentially delayed the state’s timeline by about a week, officials have said.
Grant program for small businesses
Lamont on Monday announced a new grant program that will target $35 million to restaurants and bars, as well as food service, retail, lodging, entertainment and recreation businesses.
The grants will range from $10,000 to $30,000 each, distributed to between 1,500 and 2,000 small and mid-size businesses that have been particularly hardhit during the pandemic. The checks will be sent around Dec. 31, Lamont said.
The governor called the new program a “bridge” to additional funds expected as part of the forthcoming federal relief package.
Senators receive vaccine
Both of Connecticut’s U.S. senators received the first dose of their COVID19 vaccine over the weekend, posting photos on their respective Twitter accounts while encouraging residents to get vaccinated when their turn comes.
“Since this pandemic began, I’ve looked to public health officials to inform my decisions,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal tweeted. “That’s why, when the Capitol Attending Physician made the vaccine available & my doctor recommended I get it, I rolled up my sleeve right away. I trust this vaccine is safe & effective.”
Sen. Chris Murphy similarly tweeted that “the vaccine is safe, effective, and it’s going to save lives.”
Several lawmakers, from Vice President Mike Pence to Rep. Nancy Pelosi to Sen. Mitch McConnell to Sen. Bernie Sanders, have received a vaccine dose over the past week, saying they hope to increase public confidence.