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News Roundup: Masks Will No Longer Be Required in Certain Settings For Fully Vaccinated People

A woman wearing a tank top sits on a bench at an open air restaurant in Burlington, with a garage door open, next to a teenage boy, her son.
Elodie Reed
/
VPR
Mom and son Trisha and Saverio Difonzo of Morrisville and Stowe grab some lunch at Gaku Ramen in Burlington on Thursday, after receiving a first vaccine shot earlier that day.

Vermont reporters provide a roundup of top news takeaways about the coronavirus and more for Friday, May 14.Want VPR's daily news in podcast form? Get up to speed in under 15 minutes withThe Frequency every weekday morning. How about an email newsletter?Add our daily email briefing to your morning routine.

The latest coronavirus data:

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1. Vermont Department of Health reports 58 new COVID-19 cases

Vermont health officials reported 58 new coronavirus infections statewide Friday.

In all, the state has seen more than 460 cases in the last week.

Twelve people remain hospitalization with the virus, including two people in the ICU.

Vaccinations ticked up slightly: currently just over 70% of Vermonters have gotten one vaccine dose, while just shy of 52% are fully vaccinated.

- Matthew Smith

Middlebury College will required COVID-19 vaccinations for fall semester

Middlebury College is joining a handful of other higher education institutions in Vermont that will require COVID-19 vaccinations for the fall semester.

In a press release, the college says it will require all students, faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated.

Northfield's Norwich University is adopting a similar policy.

Colchester's St. Michael's College will require students to get vaccinated.

Champlain College says it will require all students to be fully vaccinated before the start of coming fall term, as soon as federal regulators approve the inoculations for general use. They're currently only authorized for emergency use.

The University of Vermont has not yet announced any fall vaccine requirements.

- Brittany Patterson

Quebec Province pauses AstraZeneca vaccine for use as first dose

Health officials in Quebec Thursday announced the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be administered as a first dose, effective immediately.

The CBC reports the decision is based on new recommendations from the province's immunization committee.

Use of the AstraZeneca vaccine was paused in many counties after small number of women developed rare but severe blood clots linked to the shot.

The province of Quebec joins Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta, which have also paused the use of the vaccine for first doses in Canada.

Quebecers who want the AstraZeneca as their second dose will be allowed to get it.

- Brittany Patterson

Health commissioner says Vermont will still need a robust COVID-19 testing system through the summer

Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine says it's essential for the state to main a "robust" COVID-19 testing program in the coming months.

Levine says the number of COVID cases in Vermont continues to fall as people get vaccinated.

But he anticipates that a portion of the population will choose not be vaccinated and he says it's important to identify people in this group who could be positive but don't show any symptoms of the virus.

“We have our eye on that for sure, because the last thing you want to do is deceive yourself into thinking you can declare success but you're actually missing out on understanding a big chunk of the population,” Levine said Friday.

The state is hoping that as many as 70% of all Vermonters 12 and older will have received at least one dose of the vaccine by the beginning of June.

- Bob Kinzel

2. Governor eases masking, social distancing requirements for fully vaccinated Vermonters

Fully vaccinated Vermonters are no longer required to wear masks or practice physical distancing.

Gov. Phil Scott says the new rules apply to both outdoor and indoor spaces.

Scott says the update to his executive order will not increase COVID-19 transmission rates in Vermont.

“Because as we’ve seen, vaccines work. My new order conforms with the new CDC guidance, which is based on the science and the data,” he said.

The Centers for Disease Control unveiled new guidance on Thursday that dropped masking recommendations for fully vaccinated individuals.

Scott says unvaccinated Vermonters are still subject to the masking and distancing requirements.

Starting next week, the governor will no longer be wearing a mask at his twice weekly press briefings.

The Centers for Disease Control says that fully vaccinated people don't need to wear a mask in most outdoor and indoor settings. The governor says he and his Cabinet members fit in that category.

“I haven't signed the executive order – will be doing it this afternoon to make it official, and thought I should follow the rules until that time,” he said. “But I think you can expect on Tuesday we'll all be coming to the press briefing without masks."

The governor says he hopes to lift all COVID-19 restrictions in about a month if vaccination rates continue to improve among younger Vermonters.

- Peter Hirschfeld

3. Governor says if vaccination continue to improve, restrictions could be lifted ahead of July 4

Gov. Phil Scott says high vaccination rates in Vermont have allowed him to move up the timeline for the state’s economic reopening.

Scott had planned to wait until June to increase limits on gathering sizes, and relax travel restrictions.

But he says the new guidelines will instead go into effect on Friday.

“I want to thank Vermonters for making this possible,” Scott said. “Because of you stepping up for the greater good, doing your part and getting vaccinated, we’re able to do this.”

The new rules will allow indoor gatherings of up to 300 people, and outdoor gatherings of up to 900 people.

And residents who leave the state will no longer face any quarantine or testing requirements upon their return.

Last month, the governor set the July 4 as the target date to lift all restrictions.

He says if vaccination rates for Vermonters aged 18 to 30 improve in the next few weeks, he might be able to move up the timeframe.

“So, this is just a transitionary period between now and the Fourth of July, when I expect by then – if not sooner – that we'll lift all restrictions at that point,” he said.

The Health Department has launched several programs to encourage younger Vermonters to get vaccinated.

- Peter Hirschfeld and Bob Kinzel

4. State officials say vaccination rates lag for Vermonters 18-29

Vermont now ranks at the top of the nation for COVID-19 vaccination rates among people age 16 and older.

But Gov. Phil Scott says the state is still struggling to convince one demographic to get immunized against the disease.

“I am still very concerned about the 18 to 30. And that’s the grouping that we see have not performed as well as they should, I believe,” he said.

Scott said the state is trying to make it as convenient as possible for young adults to access the vaccine.

And state health officials are planning dozens of walk-in vaccination clinics throughout Vermont over the next few weeks.

State health officials are also mounting a push to get workers in Vermont’s tourism industry vaccinated against COVID-19.

Secretary of Human Services Mike Smith says the effort will include walk-in clinics for hospitality workers at their job sites.

“Clinics will be staged at restaurants, lodging properties, ski resorts and other tourism attractions, in an effort to bring the vaccine directly to the workers in this sector,” Smith said.

The push to vaccinate workers at restaurants and hotels comes as Gov. Scott loosens capacity restrictions on hospitality businesses.

- Pete Hirschfeld

5. State will host more than 60 vaccine clinics for children 12-15 at Vermont schools in coming weeks

Secretary of Education Dan French and Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine are strongly urging parents to get their 12- to 17-year-old children vaccinated against COVID-19.

French says high vaccination rates among younger Vermonters will improve the chances that schools can return to fulltime in-person learning in the fall.

“Understandably, parents will have questions about getting their children vaccinated. They should consult their local pediatrician and health care provider as necessary to get that information and advice,” Levine said.

State health officials on Friday announced plans for 66 school-based vaccination clinics in the coming weeks.

More than 7,000 children between the ages of 12 and 15 have already scheduled vaccine appointments.

Scott said that’s encouraging.

“25% have now signed up and that's only after a day,” he said Friday. “So hopefully we'll have more other than that age group sign up, so it's an encouraging sign."

The state hopes to boost the vaccination rates of younger people by allowing local schools to serve as vaccination centers in their communities.

Vaccination clinics at schools to open next week

Next week, state health officials will start opening up school-based COVID-19 vaccination clinics for children age 12 to 17.

Secretary of Education Dan French says parents can expect to get more information about the clinics from their local school districts.

“This information lets parents know how to pre-register their children, how the vaccination process will be organized and includes information on the vaccine from the Health Department and the CDC,” French said.

Pediatricians to host virtual information forums for parents

The Vermont chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics is hosting virtual forums for parents who want to learn more about COVID-19 vaccines for their children.

Secretary of Human Services Mike Smith says the forums will give parents a chance to learn more about the benefits and side effects of the vaccine.

“This is an opportunity to speak with a pediatrician in your community, along with your local health department school liaison and other health community partners,” Smith said.

The news comes after the Food and Drug Administration authorized use of the Pfizer vaccine for children between the ages of 12 and 15 earlier this week.

Survey shows Vermont children are already spending more time in the classroom

A new survey of Vermont school districts shows that students are spending more time in the classroom.

Secretary of Education Dan French says the amount of in-person learning among high school students doubled between March and April.

“The increases for in-person at the middle and high school levels are probably related to the shifting guidance we enacted during this time period, which reduced the minimum distancing requirements at these grade levels from 6 feet to 3 feet,” he said.

French says he hopes approval of COVID-19 vaccines for 12 to 15 year olds will lead to even more in-person learning.

- Peter Hirschfeld and Bob Kinzel  

6. Lawmakers continue to iron out budget differences with Gov. Scott

House Speaker Jill Krowinski says she's hopeful lawmakers will be able to iron out their differences with Gov. Phil Scott over next year's budget.

Scott has threatened to veto the budget bill because he says it uses some one-time federal stimulus money to fund ongoing programs of state government.

Krowinski says she's willing to negotiate with the governor over some of these issues.

“We're hearing some strong messages but I actually think that we are not all that far off from what our values and our goals are with this budget,” Krowinski said. “So I think where we are right now [is]: let's sit around the table; let's roll up our sleeves and get to work and find a compromise."

Krowinski says these negotiations need to take place soon, because lawmakers hope to adjourn at the end of next week.

Senate Pro Tem at odds with governor over timeline for allocating ARPA funds

Senate president pro tem Becca Balint says she disagrees with Gov. Phil Scott over the need to allocate a billion dollars in federal stimulus money during the current session.

The governor says he wants lawmakers to provide "a clear roadmap" on how this one-time money will be spent, but the Legislature has only appropriated about half of these funds.

Speaking to Vermont Edition Thursday, Balint said questions remain about how the money can be spent and she thinks the most prudent thing to do is to delay some decisions until next year.

“I just want to remind everybody that we have time. This is not a moment of decision making – this is going to be lots of moments of this decision making over the next month and years, and we want to be sure that we get it right."

Balint says she's being cautious because lawmakers learned this week that money the administration had targeted for affordable housing projects might not be available for that purpose.

Legislature could convene for short October session, if Congress passes infrastructure bill

House Speaker Jill Krowinski says it's possible that lawmakers will convene a short session in October if Congress passes a major infrastructure bill this summer.

At this time, the scope and size of that proposal is under debate in Washington.

Most Republicans want to limit the bill to traditional infrastructure projects like roads and bridges, while many Democrats want the bill to also include money for broadband services and an expansion of child care programs.

Krowinski says Vermont lawmakers will be prepared to act if Congress passes this legislation.

“We are working closely and monitoring what is happening in Washington to see if it would be beneficial for us to come back in October, to see if there's anything that we need to respond to or address immediately,” Krowinski said. “So, that option is on the table for October."

Lawmakers can call themselves back into session as long as they don't formally adjourn for the year.

Listen to the full conversation.

- Bob Kinzel

7. House Speaker calls for use of stimulus funds to address portion of pension deficit

House Speaker Jill Krowinski says it's critical that lawmakers support a plan to use $150 million in federal stimulus money to help reduce a multi-billion-dollar unfunded liability in the state employees' and teachers' pension funds.

At the start of the session, Scott said he would support this plan if lawmakers passed a long-term proposal to deal with a nearly $6 billion shortfall in these funds.

But Scott withdrew his support when the Legislature created a special task force to study this issue over the summer and fall.

Despite that development, Krowinski says the money is still needed.

"I would strongly urge the governor to stick with us and to join us in finding a solution to this problem,” she said. “And having that $150 million in investment on the table is a big part of that." 

It's not clear if Scott would veto the pension bill over this issue.

- Bob Kinzel

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