The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
‘Most’ — not all — residents have been vaccinated
Some confusion in numbers between Canaan and North Canaan
CANAAN — Nestled in the northwest corner of Connecticut, the tiny community of Canaan — which contains Falls Village — often gets confused with its neighbor to the north — North Canaan.
It’s a common problem, according to Michelle McGuire Hansen, and she believes it’s now happened with the latest COVID-19 data.
The state Department of Public Health’s latest COVID vaccination data released Thursday showed that all of the about 1,000 residents of Canaan had received at least one dose of the vaccine.
In fact, the state’s data showed 1,055 Canaan residents had initiated vaccination even though only 1,053 people — including children who are not yet eligible — live in the town.
“This is a common problem between the two towns. There’s a lot of confusion in numbers between North Canaan and Canaan. I’m worried that some of North Canaan numbers might have went on ours,” said McGuire Hansen, emergency management director for Canaan.
“We are the town of Canaan, but the town north to us is also called Canaan so sometimes, the statistics that are given aren’t necessarily correct,” she said. “While the numbers from the state say one thing, sometimes our residents get put on their stuff and their residents get put on ours, so if you’re just going by the number of population that is vaccinated, it could be wrong.”
McGuire Hansen, who is also the EMS captain for the Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department, said while “most” Canaan residents have been vaccinated, she knows of some who have not received a first dose.
A DPH spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.
While the state’s data appears to be overestimating the totals for Canaan, McGuire Hansen said the town still has a high vaccination rate.
Many of the residents who were out in town on Friday said they have been vaccinated.
Letitia Garcia-Tripp, who teaches biology, environmental science and marine biology at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, said she got the vaccine as soon as teachers became eligible.
“This is not just about protecting myself and my family, it’s about protecting those around me and the only way that we’re going to have any semblance of normal and really combat this is by everybody doing their part.”
Garcia-Tripp’s entire family got vaccinated, including her 12- and 17-yearold sons. She added, however, she chose to keep her children home from school this year.
“I had them do school remotely the entire year in order to keep them safe because they weren’t eligible until the spring for vaccines,” she said.
Greg Bidou, owner of Toymakers Cafe in Falls Village, said he chose to get vaccinated due to “really good science.”
“The vaccine doesn’t have any pollutants in it. All of the mRNA vaccines are very clean and show very little, if any, after-effects,” said Bidou, who received the Moderna vaccine.
“People that have been vaccinated, if they do test positive for COVID, it was like a flu — they didn’t even know they had it,” Bidou added. “It’s protecting them from the bad part of the virus.”
Town resident Craig Longhurst said he chose to get the COVID-19 vaccine because of his job as an interior designer.
“I’m with clients and go to shows and I thought it was the right thing to do — to get myself protected,” he said.