H.283, providing the right to refuse any unwanted test, treatment or vaccine, was introduced Thursday into the Vermont House. It would specifically prevent employers and state government from requiring vaccination in exchange for jobs, travel, childcare and other benefits.
Our biweekly briefings given by Governor Phil Scott are currently promoting vaccinations. Like it or not, the vaccines are experimental at best and have no extensive track record or long-term data to support them.
The state’s largest teachers union is pushing to move educators higher up in the COVID-19 vaccine line, and blasting Gov. Chris Sununu for prioritizing ski patrol workers over teachers in the first round of inoculations.
The Vermont Department of Health can’t say when vaccinated Vermonters will be immune from Covid-19 and no longer a threat to transmit the disease to others.
Phase two of Vermont’s Covid-19 vaccination program — immunizing people 75 and older — begins next Monday. Here’s a quick look at Covid-by-the-numbers in Vermont.
Data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that New Hampshire is administering fewer doses per 100,000 people than neighboring states Maine and Vermont. Lisa Bujno, board president of the New Hampshire Public Health Association, said the state initially received 12,000 doses.
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?
Formal FDA approval of the Covid-19 vaccine is “many months” away, Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine said at a press conference Tuesday.
Roughly 40% indicated they would take the immunization as soon as it is released to the public, and around 15% said they aren’t planning on receiving the shot at all. Twenty-six percent of Republicans vowed to refuse the vaccine altogether. Forty-four percent of the respondents said they’d wait a while.
Gov. Phil Scott today announced the arrival in Vermont of the first 1,950 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. This is the first portion of the 5,850 doses coming to Vermont this week.
Once the Federal Drug Administration has given final approval to a Covid-19 vaccine, an employer may mandate vaccination for employees, Health Commissioner Mark Levine said at Friday’s press conference.
“What we’re hoping is that we can start to reduce the restrictions once people get vaccinated. First we have to have a vaccine okayed by the FDA. And then we will have to have a quantity of vaccines distributed widely enough … to have enough effect,” Gov. Scott said.