Thread by @JaneLindholm

Long time no tweet! Time for yet another press conference. Today we will NOT hear from Governor Phil Scott, who will be absent for the state update.

AHS Secretary Mike Smith begins, noting that he is not the governor. Says the governor needed this time to address some work that was postponed due to yesterday's official inaugural business.

Smith says Vermont is second in the nation in terms of the rate of distribution of the COVID vaccine. Two slides to follow--let me just copy them on my phone.

Here you go.

Only 10 of the state's 156 deaths have occurred in people under the age of 65, underscoring the state's age prioritization in vaccine administration. "Our primary goal is to save lives," Smith says.

49,000 Vters are age 75 and up. Once they are vaccinated (after Phase 1A ends at the end of this month), the state will move on to age 70+ and then 65+, which will total 125,000 Vermonters. Smith says it will likely take to the "end of the spring to finish these groups."

Staff members at 5 correctional facilities tested positive for the virus this week. Facilities now in modified lockdown: Northwest State, Northern State, Chittenden, and Southern State. Marble Valley is in FULL lockdown from a presumed staff positive.

37 DOC staff members have tested positive since March of last year.

Education Secretary Dan French speaking now.

Says the Agency expects schools to start beginning "recovery work" this spring, to help students get back on track. Says most schools should be able to return to "mostly full in-person instruction after April vacation."

French talking about funding sources for the extra work it will take for schools to do all the work that will be needed. Much will come from federal sources, including significantly more than in previous years.

Dr. Levine now. 8619 total cumulative cases in Vermont. 202 cases being reported today. There are now 156 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the state. Positivity rate for the past week is just under 3%, far under much of the region but increasing.

Hospitalization rates are "higher than we're accustomed to, but not markedly increasing." --Dr. Levine.

Dr. Levine is referring to slides, but they haven't been sent to me so I don't have them to share with you.

One outbreak in Addison County merits attention: related to 3 separate services at a church "where a number of households were gathered and indeed we've seen a lot of transmission within those households and people who attended that church." That outbreak now totals 80 cases.

9 known cases related to people who have been at ski areas. The majority of those are employees of ski areas, Levine says. (Many people asking how much ski tourism may be contributing to spread. I'm not sure this will cover all the possible secondary issues related to ski areas.)

Levine says anyone who traveled to Washington this week needs to quarantine. He has not said specifically how/if the state is reaching out to the busload of Vermonters who videoed themselves, maskless, on their way down, to make sure they follow state rules now that they're back.

Levine says there's so far not a lot of spread from people who gathered with one other family, according to allowances from the state, over the holidays. But says the increase in cases appear to be more attributable to higher levels of the virus throughout our communities.

Levine is talking about variants of the virus that are likely to get to Vermont, if not here already. And about vaccination. I'm a little behind!! Also, just got Levine's slides, but I have to convert them in order to share them with you. Give me a second!

Levine’s slides!

Dan French answered a question from Calvin Cutler (we're in the Q&A portion now) about schools and spread. I need to admit that I really struggle to parse Secretary French's comments to succinctly report out a clear message! But one thing that stuck out from the answer was 1/

...that it will probably not be until fall before things are kind of "normal" but that we can't wait for normalcy because children are slipping behind, so there has to be a way to get kids into schools, safely, to avoid a slide that gets even worse. 2/2

Stuart Ledbetter asks about suggestions that Biden may release all the available vaccine to states more quickly. Levine says there aren't a lot of details yet.

He's encouraged about the possibility of accelerating the pace of the 1st doses, but is concerned about how states will make sure to have 2nd doses. Wants to learn more details from Biden.

Stu asks about the busload of Vermonters who went down to DC. Asks for clarity if the state is going to track down these people and make sure they quarantine. Levine says the facebook video showing them on the bus not abiding by Vermont rules "has gone viral."

Says state has reached out to each of them to strongly advise quarantine and testing. "We don't really have regulatory power to enforce quarantine when they're not yet a case," Levine says. "But we've been very strong with the information about quarantining and obtaining a test."

.@VPRDillon asks Sec. French if the goal of schools in person in April is "aspirational" or realistic. French says it's aspirational AND realistic. Says everyone needs to start planning now in order to have enough time. Says everything could still change, depending on conditions.

@VPRDillon John asks Levine to name the church in Addison County and if it's the Victory Baptist Church. Levine says yes. And says he hasn't heard that they exceeded occupancy limits.

@VPRDillon Levine says he also wants to say that the state is asking the people who went to DC to follow the same guidelines that any other Vermonter would be asked to do after traveling out of state.

Schirling answering a question about whether the bus company might have been in violation of state rules in letting people be on the bus without masks or cross state lines. Schirling says the bus company was not in violation, that rules apply to individuals.

10s or maybe 20-30 first responders have tested positive, Schirling says. The Rutland Barracks has a situation where there are 8 or 9 people involved in an exposure during a shift change who are now quarantining.

I'd be curious to hear from Commissioner Schirling if Vermont law enforcement has been in touch with federal/DC investigators about the attack on the Capitol and the Vermonters who went down. I haven't heard that any were involved in that specific incident, 1/

But I've also been hearing Vermonters talking about trying to identify the specific people on the bus, and since Schirling/Levine say the state has been in touch with the people who traveled, it seems like they may be known by the state. So is there any investigation? #vtpoli 2/2

Greg from the County Courier going back and forth with Secretary Smith. Greg's assertion is that the state did not intend to vaccinate all first responders in the initial round and wants to know why. Smith says that's not true.

Smith says the state always intended to vaccinate all first responders, and that it was an oversight that not everyone was included in the original round, but has since adjusted to make the category broad enough to include all first responders.

.@asuozzo asks if the state does have a list of everyone who was on the bus to DC. Schirling says no, but that the state got in touch with the bus company and that the driver made an announcement to the passengers about their requirement to comply with state quarantine rules.

@asuozzo I still want to know if the state is investigating the specific activities of these Vermonters in the actions in DC!

Smith says all VT correctional facilities have had staff test positive lately w/ the exception of St. Johnsbury and Mississippi. Very few inmates have tested positive. Q about why there is a full lock down at Marble Valley. Smith says there's 1 positive and 1 presumed there.

ME here: But why the different status for Marble Valley, if all the other facilities are in modified lock down and have had similar numbers of positive cases? Maybe DOC can help clarify. It sounds like the department will be putting out more info later today.

Question about how the state will know when to move from one age band to the next in the vaccination program if not everyone will say yes to the vaccine. Smith says there will be some overlap, but they know how many people are in each age band, and when they get close 1/

to that number they'll open the next age band. And they should have some info about uptake to have a sense of when they're nearing the end of one age band and can open it up to the next. 2/

ME HERE: It sounds a lot like airline boarding zones to me. They let Zone 1 go first, and then start letting Zone 2 start when Zone 1 is beginning to dwindle. But anyone from Zone 1 can board at any time, if they miss the first chance. 3/3

Secretary Smith amends a previous statement. Says he had said there weren't many inmates who had tested positive but in fact there are NO inmates who have tested positive in VT prisons recently.

.@AnneWallAllen asks if there's any investigation of the Vermonters who went to the DC event, to see if they may have participated in anything unlawful. Schirling says he can't comment on open investigations, but that all appropriate action and investigation is being taken.

@AnneWallAllen Asked if he would characterize this situation as an active investigation, Schirling says he'd characterize it by saying: "We're actively cooperating and assisting federal authorities."

There have been several questions about whether inmates or correctional officers might get priority in vaccination schedules. And lots of tweet questions about teachers and school staff. Smith has clarified that the state is only working through age bands and health conditions 1/

But, interestingly, Deputy Health Commissioner Tracy Dolan told us on @vermontedition earlier this week that the state is really focused on getting everyone age 65 and above vaccinated first, and could change the strategy after older Vermonters have gotten the vaccine. 2/

@vermontedition When I pushed to ask if she was saying the state may prioritize people by profession/exposure risk once we get to younger Vermonters, she said she didn't want to get out ahead of any discussions that were happening, but didn't close the door on it. 3/3

Levine responding to q's from @WCAX_Cat about what "normal" might look like and when. Dr. Levine says summer should look somewhat "normal" but late summer or fall could look more like what our previous ideas of normality were--fewer face masks, not as much need for distance etc.

Secretary Smith talked a little bit about the health conditions that are being taken into consideration for prioritization in the vaccination process there at the end of the press conference, and the need to get people vaccinated who have conditions that leave them vulnerable.

Sounds like younger Vermonters with those conditions will likely be moved to the top of the list after we get through the 125,000 Vermonters aged 65 and above, and before other age bands/younger Vermonters are eligible for the vaccine.

That's it for today! Back at it on Tuesday.

J/K!! 1 more thing. I've been talking w/ VT DOC's Rachel Feldman about why Marble Valley Correctional Facility is on full lockdown awaiting confirmation of a presumed positive staff case, especially since other facilities with confirmed staff cases are in modified lockdown.

Feldman said contact tracing has been done on the confirmed positives & close contacts in those facilities have been isolated. But at Marble Valley, "we don't yet know the result of that test." So tracing process hasn't been completed and full lockdown is a precautionary measure.