Thread by @JaneLindholm

Howdy, friends! I hope you are ready for yet another #vtpoli #covid19vt press conference twitter storm. I'm only going to be tweeting the first hour today, probably up to question time, because then I have to duck out for this:

https://twitter.com/NPR/status/1465725110837522437

Please join me on @TwitterSpaces at 1pm for that chat. In the meantime, answer me this: would it be helpful for me to go back and tweet the rest of the presser when I'm done, so you can have the full thread, even if it's not in real time? Or is it less helpful if it's not live?

Governor Scott begins today reminding people who gathered over the holiday week to get tested now. "Finding cases helps contain them before they spread to more people, and they will continue to be an essential tool for years to come." Increased cases expected in the coming weeks.

With omicron emerging, Scott notes that Biden has expressed concern "but not panic." And says there's still a lot unknown about what this new variant will mean. "Until then, we're not going to speculate," he says. Advises everyone over 18 to get their booster when eligible.

Vermont is a national leader in booster shots and in vaccinations for 5-11yos, but Scott says we still need to do more. Kids who get their first shot this week will be able to have their 2nd shot before Christmas.

Modeling report from Mike Pieciak now. He noted that cases are down, but that is likely due to reduced testing over the holiday. Says people who got tested over the holiday were more likely to be symptomatic, and our positivity rate is relatively high.

Using last year and current Quebec data for comparison suggests cases will rise in the next few weeks.

Hospitalization rates increasing. Those who are not vaccinated are going to the hospital at higher rates.

Slides showing booster rates and the value of vaccination on deaths.

Forecast. Cases are not expected to decrease.

Higher ed, long term care facilities, and vaccine scorecard slides here. Children still experiencing the highest case rates, so Pieciak says it’s essential to get these young people vaccinated.

Dan French, Secretary of Education now. Says 43 school districts, 73% of districts, are enrolled in the test-to-stay program. 24 independent schools also enrolled. As of last week, 112 schools were doing antigen tests under this program, which is about 9000 tests.

17,000 parental consent forms for this program are currently in Vermont's system. (Parent/caregiver consent is required for students to participate. Otherwise they have to quarantine, if they're determined to be a close contact.)

French is going over examples, and talking about a company called ATA that is helping schools administer these strategies and assist with vaccination. French says the state is working to include pre-K programs in this test-to-stay program.

Schools that achieve a high student vaccination rate can apply for grants that are an incentive and reward for getting kids vaccinated. More to come on that program in another press briefing.

Mike Smith, Secretary of Human Services. As of today, 19,358 Vermont 5-11yos have made an appointment or gotten their first shot. That's just over 44% of that age cohort, he says.

Parents/Guardians with questions can listen in to the online forums hosted by the Vermont chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. These virtual sessions are all held from 7-8pm and you can find more info here: aapvt.org

158,000 people have gotten booster doses in Vermont.

State still working to get more sub-acute beds and ICU beds online. UVM Medical Center is working to add 5 new ICU beds. Other hospitals also being assisted by the state to add more beds.

Remember those 2 new kinds of special tests last week that Smith talked about being good ways to test before Thanksgiving? He says the self-administered tests went really well and will be used more frequently.

On the LAMP testing, which was done on Wednesday (with the promise of results by Thanksgiving), he says a lot of the more than 1000 people got their test results quickly, and the state has spoken to lots of them. But nearly 100 people waited until Friday for results.

A total of 25 tests that were processed at UVM were not done correctly, with some positives and some negatives reported incorrectly. Those errors have been corrected w/ the patients, and new protocols to avoid that kind of thing happening again have been put in place.

I do know of one person who told me they never got their LAMP results at all, but don't have time to find that tweet at the moment!!

On contact tracing, Smith says it IS continuing. And there are more than 100 contact tracers doing this work. But given the high number of cases, contact tracers are focusing on high risk populations. So you should contact your own close contacts to let them know.

And Smith says you should also contact your doctor, if you test positive, to see if monoclonal antibody treatment is a good fit for you.

Health Commissioner, Dr. Mark Levine, at the mic now. Each speaker is wearing a mask except for when speaking.

To know who is a close contact, Levine says you should first determine your infectious period, starting 48 hours before symptoms started (or before you got tested). Then think about anyone you were with for more than 15 minutes in close contact, and get in touch with them.

Levine reiterates the value of reaching out to your doctor immediately, if you are at higher risk (65+ or with medical vulnerabilities), to see if you should get monoclonal antibody treatment, which is best administered in the first 5 days of the virus.

Here's what Sarah, that friend who tweeted about the LAMP testing says now:

https://twitter.com/sarahlw6/status/1465737709163630594

The state has doubled the number of doses of monoclonal antibodies it's ordering. Says the state is working through the health care system, FEMA, and EMS providers to supplement hospital capacity in providing treatment. Says this is most effective treatment for COVID-19 available

On omicron, Levine says this is concerning: namely that it appears to be more infectious, though that's still being determined, and it has appeared in many countries around the world, including Canada.

But still TBD whether vaccines are effective against it, and whether it is more or less virulent. No cases have been identified in Vermont as of today.

Levine urges people to get vaccinated, or boosted, and to make sure children ages 5 and up get their vaccines.

Levine also addressing the Merck pill to treat Covid. Says Merck still says the pill has a very positive effect, and the treatment has great potential. FDA review still forthcoming. Levine expects to have more to say on this at the next press briefing.

Question time now. They start with the small number of reporters in the room, who can sort of popcorn their questions, and then reporters who are on the call will be called upon in order.

First question is about hospital capacity and whether the governor feels we've reached a trigger for more stringent guidelines, given the high number of patients in the hospital and ICU. Scott says there's more capacity in the system than there used to be. (So, no.)

Scott: "I'm asking people to wear their masks when you're indoors, especially when you're in public spaces. Having the continued debate about whether it should be mandated...is just making the problem worse, in my opinion."

Says Bennington County and Rutland County are the two places where hospitals are experiencing surges that are stretching their capacity. Unknown how many of those cases are patients coming in from New York.

Question about whether VT can handle another surge, even before omicron, given the current situation. Reporter notes that UVM Medical Center is starting to take measures, including reducing scheduled surgeries.

Y'all, I have to pause to go to my other gig. But the masses (well, 5 or 6 of you) have spoken: I'll come back and finish the rest of this thread in an hour! If you'd like to move over to this @NPR conversation in the meantime, I'd love to see you there!

https://twitter.com/NPR/status/1465725110837522437

Okay, I'm back (until I have to go pick up my kids at school--one of the bus drivers is sick so everything's a little topsy turvy with transportation).

Scott jumps in to reemphasize the importance of reaching out to a doctor, especially if you're immunocompromised or vulnerable, if you test positive, to see if getting monoclonal antibody treatment should be provided.

Question about why someone should have to reach out to their doctor, as opposed to their doctor reaching out to them. Levine says your doctor may not know you've tested positive, so that's why you may need to reach out and tell your doc.

Question about whether we should "act like omicron is already here." Levine says, basically, yes.

Questions about vaccine and treatment equity. Levine acknowledges it's a real challenge and there is uneven availability of various medical interventions. But says he hopes the pill will be able to be widely available around the world.

Hey. Want to know how to pronounce the new variant? nytimes.com/2021/11/30/wor…

Question about whether the governor's message about wearing masks "is getting out there." He says he does think the message is spreading, but that it needs to go further. "This would help, in a lot of situations." Asks journalists to report on the benefits of mask-wearing.

Greg from the County Courier asks about state police staffing, saying the police were slow in responding to an alleged murder/suicide in Alburgh over the weekend.

Public Safety Commissioner Schirling says staffing is an issue, (Scott mentioned particularly on a weekend night, as in this case). But also geography. With Vermont's rural nature, there are often times when it takes law enforcement a significant time to get to a call.

Greg asks how many troopers were pulled off duty to cover the World Cup ski event in Killington. Schirling says that would be a situation where OFF-duty troopers would staff that kind of event, not on-duty troopers.

Question about getting rapid at-home tests to people who can't leave their jobs/homes to go get tests at clinics. Scott says the state is looking at ways to do that, hopes to have more info soon.

About when/if the state might be able to provide free rapid tests to people, Smith says: "If you can find 250,000 tests on a biweekly basis, just tell me where to go and I will hunt them down." Scott says he's working on seeing if VT can do something similar to what NH is doing.

Erin Petenko asks Gov. Scott if he's worried that he's out of touch with many health professionals, pointing out former VT Health Commissioner Harry Chen, who has come out in favor of a mandate. vtdigger.org/2021/11/30/dr-…

Scott says he and Dr. Chen agree that wearing a mask indoors is important. But says he thinks everyone who is willing to wear a mask is already wearing one, and adding a mandate would harden those who aren't wearing masks, not make them more likely to do so.

Dr. Levine says what he's hearing from states with mandates is that compliance is very challenging, and leading to more tension, aggression.

Dr. Levine says most Vermonters/people in general underestimate when the mask is most effective. Says yes, people should wear it in public, but the riskier environment is smaller social event, like having 4 families over for dinner. So think about wearing masks in that situation.

Argh. Sorry. I need to pause again. Will be back later to finish this endless thread!! :)

Tim McQuiston asks about the negative economic effects showing up in response to omicron. Scott says time will tell, but he thinks some of the stock market reaction was caused by media organizations that wanted to stoke controversy/worry. Stresses waiting for all the facts.

Q about why test-to-stay isn’t available for those under 5, especially since they can’t be vaccinated. Sec. French says the “logistical apparatus” was already in place for schools, making it easier to implement, but they’re actively working on expanding it to younger groups now.

Peter Hirschfeld asks about previous statements by the Governor that a 5% positivity rate would be cause for concern, wonders about current 4.6% rate. Levine says we are in a different place, with vaccines etc, than we were when the CDC first talked about 5% as a warning sign.

Levine says he hopes the rate will decline as more people return to testing this week, and that perhaps more people who were symptomatic were testing over the holiday week. Says whole region is experiencing an increase.

When it comes to pandemic management, Levine says "there are only so many tools in the toolbox," so the next steps would be "stringent restrictions on people's lives," and a 5% positivity rate wouldn't warrant those.

Pieciak notes that on Thanksgiving itself, about 1000 tests were conducted and about 100 were positive, a 10% positivity rate. Says people are much less likely to get tested on a holiday unless they have a specific worry or symptoms.

Andrew from Caledonian Record notes disparate rates of pediatric vaccine uptake, from 18% in Essex Co and 21% in Orleans to 54% in Chittenden Co. Wonders if this is an access issue or more of a cultural one. Sec. French says it's still a little early to determine patterns.

Pressed, French says not all scheduled pediatric clinics have happened yet, so a little more time is needed.

Levine says child vaccine uptake is likely to mirror adult vaccine rates. So similar patterns likely to emerge where unvaccinated adults prob don't vaccinate their kids.

Guy Page says other countries are using forced "quarantine camps" among other strict Covid mitigation strategies. This has been rated FALSE by Politifact. politifact.com/factchecks/202…

In case you're a little unclear on what sub-acute means, when we keep haring Smith and others talk about "sub-acute beds," Smith says it's basically people who no longer need to be in a care setting, like a rehab facility, but don't have to be in a hospital.

Opening up sub-acute beds allows the hospitals to discharge those patients and free up hospital and ICU beds. Which is why the state has been working to get those new beds available and staffed.

Okay, I finally made it through! Sorry for all the delays. See you next week!