CT Hits 2 Important Coronavirus Vaccine Milestones

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut hit two important coronavirus vaccine milestones recently: 60 percent of people 16 and older have received at least one dose and more than half of all adults are fully vaccinated.

The milestone announcement came on the one-year anniversary of Connecticut’s peak coronavirus hospitalization date; there were 1,972 coronavirus hospitalizations on April 22, 2020, compared to 515 a year later.

Nearly nine out of every 10 residents 65 and older has received at least one vaccine dose as of Thursday, which beat the state’s most optimistic projections, Gov. Ned Lamont said.

Vaccine supply is starting to eclipse demand in some parts of Connecticut and appointments are readily available. The challenge now is to make the vaccine as convenient as possible for anyone who hasn’t gotten a dose yet. Said state Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe.

“That said we still have great momentum in our vaccine program we vaccinated over 40,000 people yesterday,” he said.

Teenagers have also been receptive to getting the vaccine; around 30 percent of teens that are 16 or 17-years-old have received at least one dose and that comes just three weeks after they became eligible.

Vaccinations have helped drive down coronavirus-related deaths and hospitalizations in the state. It’s also starting to have a more apparent effect on infection numbers, Lamont said. The seven-day moving positive test rate average was 2.5 percent Thursday, which was the lowest in about a month and a half, Lamont said.

The state’s infection rate has also seen an improvement with an average of 26.2 daily positive cases per 100,000 population between April 4 and 17. The number is a decrease from more than 30 in the previous two-week period.

Lamont held Israel’s vaccination success story as a potential future for Connecticut. The country saw a dramatic decrease in cases once it crossed the 50 percent fully vaccinated threshold.

“I’d like to think we’re going to get over 70 percent,” Lamont said. “You saw Israel began stalling out at about 60 percent fully vaccinated. Let’s beat that.”