Feb. 5
Connecticut expanding COVID-19 vaccine hotline hours
Connecticut officials announced Friday they are expanding the state’s COVID-19 vaccine appointment hotline to 12 hours a day, seven days a week. The expanded hours will begin on Monday.
A total of 125 trained workers will answer phone calls and help people book appointments at a dozen locations across the state, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. They’ll be able to book up to 10,000 appointments per week, according to the Department of Public Health.
Meanwhile, The Day reports a health department site inspection Thursday at a Waterford CVS found a group from New York waiting to be vaccinated.
Article by AP
COVID-19 positivity continues to drop along with hospitalizations
Connecticut continues to show a decline in COVID-19 statistics in the last several weeks.
Governor Lamont's office released the latest COVID numbers showing another decrease in the positivity rate and hospitalizations.
Connecticut administered 47,026 tests and 1,431 came back positive, yielding a positivity rate of approximately 3.04%. Gov. Lamont said Thursday's positivity rate of 3.14% was the state's lowest since Halloween.
Hospitalizations continued to drop Friday. there are now 827 patients being treated for COVID-19. There were 29 new reported COVID-19 related deaths reported today, bringing the state's death toll to 7,214 people.
Feb. 4
Positivity rate drops to 3.14%, lowest since October
Governor Ned Lamont provided good news Thursday as Connecticut reported its lowest COVID-19 positivity rate since Halloween of last year.
Connecticut administered 29,864 tests and 937 came back positive. The positivity rate was approximately 3.14 percent. Hospitalizations continued to trend downward. Lamont said capacity for Connecticut's hospital capacity is in good shape. As of Thursday, 837 are hospitalized due to COVID-19.
Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said deaths are part of the decrease in hospitalizations but represent a small percentage of patients. Geballe added less than 10% of people pass away from COVID-19 in the hospital.
There were COVID-19 related deaths reported today, bringing the death toll to 7,185 residents.
There have been 459.257 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the state. Connecticut ranks fourth nationally in terms of vaccinations. Gov. Lamont credited the slight fall due to Monday's snowstorm but said Connecticut should move back up by Sunday.
About 49% of people 75 years of age or older have been vaccinated in Connecticut. Gov. Lamont said it is expected to have this age group fully vaccinated by mid-February. The next group up will be the 65+ age group.
Governor Lamont allocates $40 million to Connecticut’s hospitals to support ongoing covid-19 response efforts
Governor Ned Lamont today announced that his administration will be delivering an additional $40 million to Connecticut’s acute care hospitals to support their ongoing work responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funding, which comes from the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund, will be distributed to non-governmental, short-term general hospitals that meet certain requirements based on applicable costs and expenses incurred as a result of the pandemic. It supplements the over $980 million direct federal funding received by the hospitals to date during the pandemic.
“This funding recognizes the frontline role Connecticut’s hospitals and their dedicated employees have played throughout this pandemic,” Governor Lamont said. “It is not an overstatement to say that this role has been heroic and continues to be indispensable as we all work together to defeat the virus. Our hospitals have needed to adapt to new protocols and infection control measures, while also ceasing elective procedures during the crest of the first wave of COVID-19, which had the effect of increasing costs and decreasing revenues, not to mention the physical, mental, and emotional toll this pandemic has taken on their staff. While these hospitals have received direct federal aid during this crisis, some of them and their affiliated practices are still experiencing financial hardship. This $40 million will help those providers through this difficult time and recognizes the critical work and dedication they have demonstrated.”
Dunkin Donuts Park to host vaccination clinic for residents 75+
Residents in Hartford who are 75 and older will now be able to schedule vaccine appointments at Dunkin' Donuts Park on Saturday, February 6, 10 a.m.- 3 p.m.
The announcement was made by Hartford's Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday. The clinic will be by appointment by scheduling online or calling the Health Department at 860-757-4830.
“Our Health Department and our healthcare providers are working hard alongside the State to get the vaccine out to eligible seniors, reaching out to them individually by phone and mail, asking family members to sign them up, and more,” said Mayor Luke Bronin. “This clinic at the baseball stadium is another way to do that, and we have appointments available right now, so please ‘Sign Up a Senior’ for the safe, effective COVID-19 vaccine – there’s no cost, and we’ll get them a ride if they need one.”
City officials encourage residents to sign up their parents, grandparents, friends, and neighbors who may not be able to sign up themselves. Hartford will provide a free ride for residents that need transportation.
Those with appointments are asked to show up at their scheduled time and not before.
Feb. 3
COVID positivity rate drops to 3.77%; hospitalizations drop again
Governor Lamont's office released Connecticut's COVId-19 statistics showing another decrease in hospitalizations.
Connecticut administered 12,782 tests and 482 came back positive. The positivity rate from Wednesday was 3.77 percent. Hospitalizations continue to drop in the state. Connecticut currently has 874 patients being treated for COVID-19 in the hospital.
Sadly, COVID-19 related deaths have continued to rise. On Wednesday the death toll rose by 26 people. As of Feb. 3, 7157 people have died due to COVID-19.
Feb. 2
Eastern CT Health Network pauses COVID-19 vaccinations
Appointments for all first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccinations at the Manchester Memorial and Rockville General have been canceled due to the lack of supply on February 4. These only impacts appointments scheduled in VAMS.
The Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN) residents impacted to return to the VAMS site to find another location to schedule their appointment. The appointment availability will be re-instated in VAMS as soon as ECHN gets more vaccine doses.
Residents who received their first dose at Manchester or Rockville Hospital should go to their second dose appointment as recorded on their vaccination card to the same location. This will ensure the completion of their vaccine regiment.
COVID-19 positivity rate rises to 4.36%, hospitalizations continue to drop
Governor Ned Lamont's office released Connecticut's latest COVID-19 numbers showing a continued drop in hospitalizations.
Connecticut administered 58,957 tests and 2,568 came back positive. This yields a positivity rate for Tuesday at 4.36%. Hospitalizations dropped by 12 more people since the weekend. There are now 900 people in the hospital being treated for the virus.
There were 14 more COVID-19 related deaths reported today, bringing the state death tool to 7,133 people.
Connecticut National Guard delivers 1,000 vaccines to UConn Health
CT National Guard troops came to the rescue Tuesday of hundreds of UConn Health patients anxiously awaiting the rescheduling of their canceled COVID-19 vaccinations this week.
Nearly 1,000 first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine arrived, allowing hundreds of rescheduled patient vaccinations to take place.
“Our goal is to share these 975 first doses today and tomorrow with our patients,” says Anne Horbatuck, VP of Ambulatory Services at UConn Health. “We are moving down the list of canceled patients starting with today’s and moving forward to reschedule them as quickly as possible.”
“I am feeling good that we can provide this precious resource to our 75 years and older patient population when we know the vaccine supply is scarce,” shared Dr. Kim Metcalf, Primary Vaccine Coordinator for UConn Health’s COVID-19 Vaccine Program.
Feb. 1
Connecticut's COVID-19 hospitalizations, the positivity rate decline
Governor Ned Lamont provided updates on Connecticut's response to the COVID-19 pandemic at 4 p.m. today.
Connecticut continues to trend downward in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.Gov. Lamont said hospitalizations have decreased for the last nine days. Current hospitalizations are now 912 patients.
There were 101,971 tests administered over the weekend and 3,931 came back positive, yielding a positivity rate of about 3.86%. Gov. Lamont said for the first time in months, Connecticut's 7-day average for positivity rate is below 4%.
COVID-19 related deaths increased to 1,119 people over the weekend.
Jan. 31
Official: Vaccine effort paying off in CT nursing homes
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A top Connecticut official says that COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to enough nursing home residents in the state to potentially stop the transmission of the virus among those residents. Josh Geballe, chief operating officer for the state, said Saturday that Connecticut nursing homes are reporting that 90% to 100% of residents have received at least the first of two vaccine shots. He said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases in nursing homes has declined by 66% in the last three weeks. Geballe said some vaccine doses that had been earmarked for nursing homes are being reallocated to hospitals and retail sites.
