coronavirus in connecticut

Connecticut Sees Highest COVID-19 Positivity Rate Since Spring: Lamont

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Governor Ned Lamont said today's COVID-19 numbers show the highest positivity rate the state has seen since the spring in Connecticut.

The state's positivity rate is 7.13%. With over 66,000 tests performed since Wednesday, a total of 4,751 came back positive.

The state’s COVID-19 positivity rate was 6.52% on Wednesday, up from 5.9% on Tuesday.

An additional 20 people have died from COVID-19. The death toll is now 5,111.

Net hospitalizations have decreased by 11. There are now 1,191 people hospitalized with COVID-19.

There have been 126,177 cases of COVID-19 in Connecticut since the beginning of the pandemic.

As cases rise in Connecticut, the United States had a record number of deaths in a single day Wednesday, CNBC reports. Data that Johns Hopkins University compiled shows 2,800 deaths caused by COVID-19, which is the highest single-day death toll ever reported.

Vaccine Distribution in Connecticut

The number of vaccinations distributed in Connecticut, along with when they will be distributed, are listed in the chart below.

It is predicted that during the week of Dec. 14, 31,000 vaccines will be distributed.

The following week, an additional 94,000 vaccines will be given out. During the week of Dec. 28, an additional 51,000 vaccinations will be distributed.

In the weeks leading up to January 2021, a total of 176,000 COVID-19 vaccinations will be distributed, the governor said. Starting in January, 51,000 vaccinations are expected to be distributed each week and by the end of January, a total of 380,000 first-time vaccinations are expected to have been given out.

The governor unveiled the state's rollout plan for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Second doses of vaccines will not be available until the beginning of 2021, according to Lamont. By the end of January, 212,000 second-dose vaccinations will be distributed in the state.

These numbers are subject to change. Pfizer is now expected to ship half of the COVID-19 vaccine doses for this year than it had previously planned after finding raw materials in early production that didn't meet its standard, Dow Jones reported.

Peter J. Pitts, a former Food and Drug Administration associate commissioner, and current president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest joined NBCLX and debunked many of the fears people have expressed about taking a COVID-19 vaccine.

Prioritization of Vaccines: What This Means For CT Residents

The first people to receive COVID-19 vaccinations will be healthcare workers, nursing home residents, and medical first responders.

Vaccines to these groups will be given in phase 1a. This phase will be effective from the start of vaccine distribution through mid-January, the governor said.

As of now, a total of 204,000 vaccines will be distributed to healthcare workers, nursing home residents will be given 22,000 total vaccines, and medical first responders will get 6,000 vaccines during phase 1a.

"We are looking to get our doses to the nursing homes at the earliest possible time," Acting Commissioner of the Department of Public Health Deidre Gifford said during Thursday's press conference.

The governor said phase 1b will represent critical workforce and other congregate settings, adults over 65, and those who are high-risk under the age of 65. People who fall under this group will be able to get vaccinated from mid-January to late May.

Those under 18 years old and the remaining population will fall under phase 2 of vaccine distribution. People who fall under this category will be capable of being vaccinated in early June, Lamont said.

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