Updated at 3:39 p.m.
Vermont officials sought to allay concerns about breakthrough Covid-19 cases Tuesday amid a worsening national picture driven by the spread of the more contagious Delta variant.
The state reported 171 new cases this week, up from 89 the previous week. According to state projections, cases are expected to continue to rise in the coming weeks, said Mike Pieciak, commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation, at Gov. Phil Scott’s weekly press conference.
An increase in national reports of cases among fully vaccinated people, known as breakthrough cases, along with the continued spread of the Delta variant, has led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reinstate recommendations to wear masks indoors in regions with high infection rates — even for people who are vaccinated.
Levine said Tuesday, before the new CDC guidance was announced, that the changes would not likely affect Vermont because virus transmission in the state remains low. “There’s not a reason for us to take an alarmist kind of stance and make any major changes,” he said.
However, new masking guidelines for K-12 schools remain under consideration. Levine said the administration would likely announce new school guidelines at next Tuesday’s press conference.
The concerns have also led some states and cities, such as California and New York City, to establish new vaccination and masking requirements for government and health workers.
Scott said Tuesday that no such requirements would be necessary at this point because of Vermont’s already high vaccination rate.
Of eligible Vermonters, 83.6% have received at least one dose of the vaccine, the highest rate in the nation. Roughly 90,000 eligible Vermonters have yet to begin vaccination.
Scott echoed CDC Director Rochelle Walensky’s recent remark that “this is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
“On a much smaller scale, that is bearing out here in Vermont, as well,” the governor said.
Despite concerns about breakthrough cases, the infection rate among vaccinated Vermonters has remained stable over the past four months, Pieciak said Tuesday.
Breakthrough cases have become more visible as the average infection rate has ticked up over the past three weeks, Pieciak said. But the percentage of the fully vaccinated population that is getting infected has slightly decreased, from 2.09% in the two weeks leading up to April 1 to 1.24% in the two weeks leading up to July 26.
The state last reported a total number of breakthrough cases on July 16. As of July 14, fully vaccinated people had accounted for 276 cases since January, about 1.6% of all cases. Thirteen of those people were hospitalized, according to the report, and one of those people died, Health Commissioner Mark Levine said Tuesday.
“There was not an epidemic of cases among people in Vermont who have been vaccinated,” Levine said. Plus, “the data continues to show that people who have been vaccinated are far, far less likely to experience serious illness, hospitalization or death if they do become infected.”
Sign up for our guide to the global coronavirus outbreak and its impact on Vermont, with latest developments delivered to your inbox.
"continued" - Google News
July 28, 2021 at 01:53AM
https://ift.tt/3zKOPAv
State projects continued rise in Covid cases, but plans no new restrictions - vtdigger.org
"continued" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2WiTaZN
https://ift.tt/2YquBwx
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "State projects continued rise in Covid cases, but plans no new restrictions - vtdigger.org"
Post a Comment