Lamont: Pfizer OK should prompt more vaccinations
With the final approval of the Pfizer vaccine by the federal Food and Drug Administration on Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont said he hopes that businesses will now consider more stringent requirements for employee inoculations for returning to the workplace.
“There was some hesitancy because they wanted to wait until the FDA gave the final approval for the Pfizer vaccine and they have done that now,” Lamont said during an afternoon news conference on coastal resiliency in New London. “More importantly you know, for me, I think anybody who had just a little bit of hesitancy . ... I think that question is off the table.”
Approval of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 should lead to more businesses requiring inoculations, the governor said, as Biden asked companies to mandate vaccinations.
The state Department of Public Health on Monday reported a net increase of 23 hospitalizations over the weekend, bringing the current total to 369. The daily positivity rate for COVID-19 was 3.5 percent, about the weekly average, while deaths, which are reported on Thursdays, stand at 8,330 in the pandemic.
While more than 2.1 million state residents have been vaccinated, Lamont said he hopes that the FDA’s official approval of the Pfizer vaccine alleviates the concerns of those who have yet to sit for an inoculation. Younger people who are eligible, particularly those 12 to 15, as well as 16 and 17-year-olds, have had lower vaccination percentages that older people.
Statewide, the DPH reported last week that 84,283 12-to -5year-olds, or 48 percent of that age group, were fully vaccinated. Among the 16 and 17 yearolds, 58,486, or 64 percent, were fully inoculated. But only 55.5 percent of 18-to-24-yearolds were fully vaccinated.
The DPH reported Monday that the state has had 2.8 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine delivered, along with 2.1 million Moderna doses and 250,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
“You know, the FDA, after 200 million vaccines have been administered, after the fact that we have well over a year of history, know that it’s safe and effective,” Lamont told reporters in a New London fire house. “No excuses. Get vaccinated.”
“Many Connecticut residents have well-founded reasons for questioning public health authorities,” said acting Commissioner of Public Health Dr. Deidre Gifford, in a late-afternoon statement. “There have been too many times in the past when the medical system fell short. Despite those shortcomings, for the health and safety of all our communities, we are appealing to you now to trust the science, talk to your family and friends, and please get vaccinated.”
Lamont recently required state employees, public and private school teachers and day care and nursing home workers to get vaccinated. President Joe Biden on Monday asked businesses to require vaccines.