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How can Vermont reach the last 18% for vaccination?
Valley News

About 82% of the state’s eligible population is vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Friday, placing Vermont at the top of the country in its vaccine progress.
It also just reached another milestone.

More than three-quarters of its adult population is fully vaccinated, one of the strongest measures the state has for curbing COVID-19 cases and deaths.
That high vaccination rate allowed Gov. Phil Scott to drop all COVID-19 restrictions in June, marking a symbolic end to that phase of the pandemic.

But even before Scott reopened the state, vaccinations had been falling. The number of Vermonters getting vaccinated for the first time has dropped significantly since May.
Experts and officials say it’s still important to reach those unvaccinated remnants of Vermont, particularly with other parts of the country reporting rising cases of the more infectious delta variant of the disease.
Vermont hospitals seeing more admissions as patients catch up on routine visits
Saint Albans Messenger

Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD during a press conference this week said more people are now heading back to see their doctors.

 “A number of them appear to be a result of people having delayed regular health care and therefore being susceptible to more serious illness,” Levine said. “Sicker patients may mean longer stays in the hospital and more complex needs. “We were fortunate in Vermont that we were able to work with our health care system to remain open safely during the past year so that people could get back to routine medical care,” Levine said. Our data showed, in fact, health care facilities were some of the safest places to be. And now, with Vermont’s robust vaccination rates they are even safer.” 

He said now is the time to get caught up on those medical visits. 

“So I strongly encourage anyone who has put off preventive care, screenings, or kids’ immunizations, to take the opportunity to get caught up when you can,” he said. “And if you have any important symptoms you’ve been ignoring or waiting for a better time to address, please find the time to see your provider. The sooner the better.”  
Close To A Catastrophe: Community Health Agencies Face Severe Workforce Shortage
VPR

Last year, public health officials warned that the coronavirus pandemic would likely lead to a spike in demand for mental health services. New data in Vermont shows that prediction is bearing out.

But that uptick in need comes as mental health agencies contend with an unprecedented workforce shortage.

Some experts say Vermont’s community mental health system is on the verge of a “catastrophe.”

Champlain Community Services sits in an old brick building at Fort Ethan Allen in Colchester.

The organization was founded in 1967, as part of a movement to de-institutionalize people with intellectual disabilities.

Until as recently as 2002, Vermonters with disabilities would go there to do manufacturing work, in what were known as “sheltered workshops.”
Scott Shares 'secret' of success
Rutland Herald

Gov. Phil Scott and members of his administration said on Tuesday they have been contacted by other states asking about the “secret” to the Green Mountain State’s vaccine success.

Of adults eligible for vaccination, 82.4% have gotten one or both shots, as of Tuesday.

Scott said it was tough to say what was different about Vermont, but said it seemed as if some of the response “was based on politics from the very beginning.”

“I’m not sure everything we do here in Vermont would necessarily work in another state. All the pieces of the puzzle have to fit together,” he said.

Scott talked about leaders gaining the trust of the people in their community.
While Scott never mentioned the words “president” or “Trump,” he talked about the problem starting with the “previous administration” and the “hesitancy of communicating that this was a real issue.

Scott added “anti-masking” and the suggestion that “this COVID is going to be over in a couple months,” to the list.

“It just started then, and it went downhill from there. So, we didn’t have that here in this state. I owe that to the people of Vermont. It wasn’t anything that we did,” he said.

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