One month into vax program, acceptance rate about 80%

By Guy Page

One month ago today, the first Vermonter was vaccinated for Covid-19. Since then, how many Vermonters have been vaccinated? Are Vermonters willing to be vaccinated? When will state officials be satisfied that “enough” Vermonters have been vaccinated?

Last question first. The Health Department hopes to vaccinate 75-80% of Vermonters, Health Commissioner Mark Levine said at a press conference Friday. This will happen by “late summer or early fall,” depending on the success of the vaccination program, he said.

Current vaccination rate of total population: 4.1% of all Vermonters have received at least one dose of the two-dose vaccine. That’s the sixth highest rate in the nation, according to Jan. 13 CDC figures. The two Dakotas lead the nation with over 5%. Fellow New England states Maine and New Hampshire also have as high or higher a rate than Vermont.

state of Vermont

Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine

Total number of administered doses and recipients, to date: 35,000 doses have been administered to 30,000 people, Agency of Human Services Secretary Mike Smith said at the Friday press conference.

The percentage of vaccines administered compared to total doses available is between 41%–50%. The lower figure is claimed by the CDC, while the state of Vermont asserts the higher rate.

Smith said this morning he is unsure why the CDC cites the lower number. Of the 69,000 doses received by the state of Vermont, only 100 are still in the state warehouse. He said pharmacies’ administration of the vaccines may account for some of the lag. Also, some released doses are second doses scheduled for recipients who had the first dose less than the requisite 30 days ago.

Finally, about 60 doses have been wasted, Health Commissioner Mark Levine said.

All senior care facilities have received their allotment of vaccines, Smith said.

The current rate of vaccine acceptance is about 80% among senior home patients and health care workers, Levine said today.

Some 84% of eligible hospital staff have been vaccinated, University of Vermont Medical Center spokesperson Neal Goswami told Vermont Daily yesterday:

“The UVM Medical Center continues to administer the vaccine to eligible employees and community members, in alignment with guidance from the state of Vermont and the supplies we have available. As of Tuesday, nearly 6,000 employees out of 7,177 of those who are eligible have received their first dose, and we continue to administer doses to eligible employees. There is no mandatory requirement for employees to receive the vaccine at this time. We have also vaccinated 4,215 community members and health care workers that have been identified as part of the state’s guidance for phase 1A.”

Adverse effects of vaccination: through December, there were 25 adverse impacts reported, Levine said. Two individuals suffered shortness of breath. Most impacts were local, not systemic, and did not require medical attention. By that time about 25,000 doses had been administered.

Read more of Guy Page’s reports. Vermont Daily is sponsored by True North Media.

Images courtesy of Public domain and state of Vermont

5 thoughts on “One month into vax program, acceptance rate about 80%

  1. The vaccines on the scene now call for two inoculations, 3 weeks apart. Johnson & Johnson vaccine undergoing the acceptance process, is for one injection .

    The whole matter is a farce. But Biden has the answers. I’m not to be controlled by their power status they think they have. I have all kinds of allergies and am excused for starters.

  2. Re: “Are Vermonters willing to be vaccinated? When will state officials be satisfied that “enough” Vermonters have been vaccinated?”

    I know, I know. Conspiracy theories abound.

    I heard and read today that, one year after the first Covid outbreaks and, coincidentally, after the success of Trump’s ‘warp speed’ vaccine program, China is now implementing another sequence of severe lockdowns in various provinces throughout China with talk of mutating viruses. Whether or not this is all part of the plan, or the usual unintended consequences of policies by omniscient moral busybodies, remains to be seen. I’m beginning to wonder if the enhanced security and deployment of Federal troops, ostensibly to protect us from political violence, is the case. Or are forced vaccinations on the horizon? This is all very strange.

  3. Levine mentioned only 25 adverse events in Vermont so far, which is good news. However, nationwide the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) he relies upon for his data reports nearly 7,000 post-vaccination adverse events, including 66 deaths. A 2010 federal study concluded that fewer than 1% of adverse events are typically reported to VAERS. One hopes this number has improved since that study was published.

    I bears repeating to the population that the Covid-19 vaccines were approved only under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), without the full FDA approval process, making the vaccines by definition experimental. There are no long-term studies (phase III trials won’t finish until 2023). The vaccines have not been trialed on people with allergies, or on pregnant women, or trialed for interactions with other vaccines or prescription drugs. They were not even trialed to prevent person-to-person transmission! Hell, if a vaccine won’t stop transmission, what is the point?

    Merely pointing this stuff out invites “anti-vaxxer” smears. But facts are facts. Maybe this time around, the “cult” are the people who, without hesitation, will step right up to be injected with a substance that offers more questions than answers.

  4. The only reason it is at 80% is they have not reached the people who are hard core antivaxers. As they progress along this path It will become quite evident that the acceptance rate will fall off dramatically.

Comments are closed.