CONNECTICUT, USA — Ahead of Tuesday’s public hearing on the religious exemption for vaccines combined COVID-19 strained first discovered in South Africa now found in Connecticut, health officials are reminding residents that the covid vaccine is safe, effective and it’s important to receive it when the time comes.
According to the Department of Public Health, the variant has been detected in a Fairfield County resident, who is between the ages of 60 to 70 years old. Health officials said the individual is currently hospitalized in New York and their condition is improving.
According to CT DPH, this new case is in addition to 42 confirmed cases of the B117 variant in Connecticut. The variant is known to be more highly transmissible, but health officials say that isn’t the case with the variant discovered in South Africa.
“We also aren’t seeing data to suggest it's more virulent, so cause more severe illness, more hospitalizations, more deaths so we have that with this South African variant and in terms of the vaccines, both of the mRNA vaccines, there's been laboratory data to show that they generate high levels of those neutralizing antibodies that protect against this particular strain,” UConn infectious disease expert, Dr. David Banach said.
Health officials emphasized with this new variant present in the state now is the time to ensure social distancing, double up on masks, and receive a vaccine when the time comes.
On the same day, members of the Connecticut Freedom Alliance held a virtual meeting to discuss pushback on a bill they believe would lead to state-mandated COVID-19 vaccinations by eliminating religious exemptions.
“If this is our only choice exemption that does ring an alarm for some people,” member Katherine Kraemer said.
The Public Health Committee is set to hold a virtual public hearing Tuesday for a bill to eliminate the religious exemption for vaccinations affecting children in public and private schools.
The Public Health Committee said the growing number of young children claiming the exemption is concerning. The bill would not force children to be immunized but it would bar them from attending school in the state.
“Personally, if this bill would pass with the grandfathering clause, my own daughter would be permitted to remain in school, but my son would not be offered the same situation,” member Dr. Matthew Paterna said.
The public hearing will begin Tuesday at 9 a.m. through Zoom. More than 1,300 individuals have signed up to speak but the meeting will have a 24-hour time limit.