With encouraging news about a potential Covid-19 vaccine continuing to grow, Gov. Ned Lamont has created a working group to prepare a distribution strategy for Connecticut.
The governor”™s Covid-19 Vaccine Advisory Group will be responsible for optimizing a statewide vaccine distribution strategy as well as communicating critical medical information about the vaccine with the state”™s residents.
It will be co-chaired by Dr. Deidre Gifford, acting commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, and Dr. Reginald J. Eadie, president and CEO of Trinity Health of New England. The health network includes Johnson Memorial Hospital (Stafford Springs), Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital (Hartford), St. Francis Hospital (Hartford), and St. Mary”™s Hospital (Waterbury).
The group”™s rank-and-file members are in the process of being appointed. Lamont said that he expects them to include vaccination experts, vaccine providers, state agency representatives, state legislators, labor representatives, emergency management officials, and representatives of highly impacted communities.
“We have a responsibility to provide critical medical information and safeguards to the residents of our state, and I want to ensure that we have a plan in place for when a vaccine is developed and becomes available to the public,” the governor said. “I want this group to review every possible scenario when it comes to the science and efficacy of the vaccine, as well as the logistics of its distribution.”
The group will be administered by staff from the Connecticut Department of Public Health, and public meetings are anticipated to be held monthly “beginning around October,” according to Lamont.
An announcement will be made by the governor”™s office when the remaining members of the group are appointed.
If and when a vaccine is found, Gifford cautioned that it would first be made available to first responders, health care workers and those with pre-existing conditions and who are considered high-risk for the coronavirus, including the elderly.
As of last night, Connecticut has conducted over 1.46 million Covid tests, resulting in over 56,000 positive results. The state has recorded 4,495 coronavirus-related deaths; currently three are 68 patients hospitalized with the virus.
Fairfield County has recorded about 20,000 cases and about 1,400 deaths; 16 residents are hospitalized.
As of this morning, the U.S. has recorded nearly 7 million cases and 204,000 deaths. Worldwide there have been 31.4 million cases and 965,500 deaths.
