Group of small CT towns hailed for COVID vaccination efforts
There are a dozen Connecticut communities where 65 percent or more of their population have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, the latest state data shows.
In Middlesex County, more than 72 percent of Old Saybrook’s 10,000 residents have received at least the first shot, state data shows. In Lyme, just north and across the Connecticut River, 75 percent of the
2,300 residents have received at least one dose, according to the data.
Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday highlighted Lyme as the state’s “champion” for vaccinations.
“They’re really close to herd immunity there,” he said.
The data suggests a few mostly affluent communities are nearing the threshold of 80 percent vaccine coverage most often cited as the gateway to herd immunity against COVID-19.
Josh Geballe, the state’s chief operating officer, praised the efforts of local health officials.
“It’s also communities that skew a little older, so they’ve had a bit of a head start here,” he said.
Geballe also credited strong partnerships between the various vaccine providers, and said demand is still high for shots in communities with lower vaccination rates. The state expects those rates to increase “in the coming weeks.”
Statewide, about 55 percent of residents 16 and older have received at least a first shot of vaccine, according to the governor’s office.
But many of Connecticut’s largest cities, including Hartford and Bridgeport, still report vaccine coverage percentages well below the state average.
Hartford still ranks last with just under 28 percent of its 122,000 residents having received at least one dose of a vaccine, the data shows. The numbers show Hartford’s rate increased about 6 percent since last week.
Bridgeport, with a population of more than 144,000, hasn’t fared much better. A little more than 30 percent of residents have received at least one shot, up about 5 percent from the previous week, according to the data.
Waterbury, which Lamont flagged as a hot spot for cases, also ranks low with roughly 31 percent of its 108,000 residents vaccinated.
But it’s not just cities with low vaccine coverage.
The town of North Canaan, nestled against the Massachusetts border in far northern Litchfield County, sits secondto-last with 28 percent of its
3,200 residents receiving at least the first dose, the data shows.
North Canaan’s population is similar to nearby Kent, but there is a stark difference in vaccination rates. Kent ranks third in the state with 69 percent of its residents who have received at least the first dose, state data shows.
“Often it’s in the cities where we have a little more hesitancy and real access problems, we gotta continue to do a really good job there,” Lamont said. “But you can also see in some of our rural areas you can have a town very vaccinated next to one that’s less so.”
Lamont said that could be attributed to “cultural things” that will need to be addressed by local health departments.
“We’ve got to emphasize that it’s in the interest of the entire state, the entire community, that nobody gets left behind,” he said.
Like previous weeks, the data shows communities marked as having a significantly vulnerable population — many of which are located in cities — rank lower. Going down the list of the top communities by vaccine coverage, No. 17 West Hartford is the first municipality to be flagged with a vulnerable population. About 63 percent of the town’s roughly 63,000 residents have received at least one shot, the data shows.
The state is also facing the challenge of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine being suspended this week as federal agencies investigate a rare blood clotting issue in six people who received the vaccine.
As a result, Lamont said the National Guard helped swap out doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from the state’s mobile vaccination vans. And because the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna each require two doses, the vans will need to follow up in several weeks to deliver the second shots.
“It’s a little more complicated than it was a week ago, we’re still getting it done with a special emphasis upon equity,” the governor said.