Thread by @JaneLindholm

There is no Covid press briefing today! However, Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine is going to be on @vermontedition, so I'll tweet out any salient remarks. (And tomorrow afternoon the governor delivers his State of the State address. @vprnet will carry it live.) #vtpoli

@vermontedition @vprnet Governor Scott announced at the end of last week's briefing that there wouldn't be one today, because of the State of the State. (I believe the same thing happened last year, with the inauguration.)

@vermontedition @vprnet Meanwhile, new Covid dashboard stats show the highest one-day total ever for Vermont. (Dashboard currently says it was last updated yesterday, but @healthvermont confirms these are new numbers.) healthvermont.gov/covid-19/curre…

.@vermontedition is beginning with an update from Quebec, with @CBCNews reporter @katemckenna8. Yesterday the province had a daily record of over 15,000 new infections. McKenna says with more than 200 new hospital admissions reported today, the province is reaching capacity.

@vermontedition While the Vermont conversation revolves around the issue of a statewide and municipal mask mandates, Quebec has much stricter mitigation measures, including a nightly curfew.

@vermontedition McKenna says Quebec is basically at max capacity for testing as well. And the province is considering adding new restrictions to people who are unvaccinated.

@vermontedition After the break, @healthvermont commissioner Dr. Mark Levine joins the show. If you have questions for him, you can tweet @vermontedition or email [e-mail], or call! 1-800-639-2211. Host @mikafrak will be fielding your questions and asking her own.

Lefrak asks Dr. Levine what he thinks of the mitigation measures in Quebec compared to Vt. He points out that the US in general has had fewer restrictions than Canada and many European countries.

Levine says some countries previously using strict mitigation measures aren't, like New Zealand & Australia. As for Quebec, he says the big issue is that the hospital situation in QC is nearing crisis. But right now Vermont is NOT at a crisis point in terms of hospital capacity.

Mask update: "I still fully believe A mask is better than no mask." But single layer cloth mask is not as effective against omicron. So either use double cloth mask, cloth mask over surgical mask, or KN95 mask, if you have access to them.

Early in the pandemic there were reports of fake or non-effective KN95 masks on the market, but Levine says most masks being advertised now are legit, so you can have more confidence ordering/purchasing them.

Statewide mask mandate "still on the table" but Levine says the state continues to rely on cooperation, not a rule. (So, no change in stance.)

FDA just authorized boosters for kids age 12-15. In addition, some children age 5-11 w/ compromised immune systems are now eligible for an early 3rd dose. AND, time btw first 2 doses and booster for Pfizer only has been reduced from 6 months to 5 months. cnbc.com/2022/01/03/fda…

Levine says there are still a few details the state is waiting on to implement these changes, but that shouldn't take long and the state is placing a high priority on in-person learning for school children.

On lack of testing (both PCR and rapid) over the holidays and now, Levine says the demand was a good thing (but doesn't address if VT could have done a better job of anticipating/ holiday demand). Says test availability should get back to normal now that holidays are over.

Lots of questions/concerns about why rapid tests aren't picking up the omicron variant as well. Levine says he thinks those tests are still picking up what needs to be picked up.

Some of the rapid tests aren't picking up the virus early on, because people just don't have enough viral load yet. But if you are feeling sick, you should stay away from others regardless of test results. ME: I found this article really helpful: slate.com/technology/202…

If you order tests and they are left outside and get cold, it's unclear if their accuracy could be affected. Levine says it's probably fine but more info being gathered on that.

Levine says the 0-5 age group is a "true priority" for the state, and it was supply chain issues that prevented the state from offering free test kits to that age group along with school-aged kids. Says they should soon be available to younger kids as well.

Levine says we should be hearing more this week about plans to get testing to the younger age groups.

That's it from @vermontedition today! Thanks for reading.