Tag: CT Mirror

Consultant: Connecticut could see up to $900M in savings as retirement ‘tsunami’ approaches

Mary Pat Campbell
Consultant: Connecticut could see up to $900M in savings as retirement ‘tsunami’ approaches

Excerpt:

A study of Connecticut’s state government in advance of an expected wave of retirements next year has identified as much as $900 million in potential savings in executive agencies with total budgets of $14 billion, while acknowledging the significant obstacles to making changes in one of the most heavily unionized public-sector workforces in the United States.

The report released Wednesday by the administration of Gov. Ned Lamont says 8,000 of the 30,000 executive-branch employees are eligible to retire by July 1, 2022, when retirement benefits will be reduced under the terms of a 2017 concession deal. A survey found about 70% of the eligible workers were leaning toward retiring.

The highest percentage of expected retirements is among employees responsible for public safety and caring for at-risk children and people with intellectual disabilities and mental illnesses. As such, the exodus poses daunting challenges to maintaining essential services and perhaps offers once-in-a-generation opportunities for fundamental change. 

Author(s): MARK PAZNIOKAS

Publication Date: 31 March 2021

Publication Site: CT Mirror

Why an epidemiologist thinks Connecticut has its COVID vaccine priorities backwards

Mary Pat Campbell
Why an epidemiologist thinks Connecticut has its COVID vaccine priorities backwards

Excerpt:

But the state has its terms for success defined backward, said Saad Omer, Yale School of Public Health epidemiologist and the director of the Yale Institute for Global Health. “That’s a process metric,” he said. “It’s not an outcome metric.”

How important is speed in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout? To Connecticut, it’s an important enough consideration to partially justify bucking CDC guidance on prioritizing people with co-morbidities, though experts suggest that it is the best way to prevent deaths in younger populations.

But by rolling out vaccine through an age-based process, the state will effectively de-prioritize younger adults with co-morbidities that put them at higher risk of dying from COVID-19, Omer said, because in those younger age groups, those with existing health issues will be part of a much larger crowd of eligible residents.

Author(s): Kasturi Pananjady

Publication Date: 9 March 2021

Publication Site: CT Mirror

Vaccine rollouts discriminates against CT residents of color, federal complaint alleges

Mary Pat Campbell
Vaccine rollouts discriminates against CT residents of color, federal complaint alleges

Excerpt:

Attorneys from three legal aid programs from across the state filed a federal complaint Monday against Gov. Ned Lamont and Connecticut, alleging that its vaccine rollout plan discriminates against residents of color.

The complaint asks the Office for Civil Rights to “immediately investigate and issue findings on an expedited basis” on whether the vaccine rollout discriminates on the basis of race and disability. Attorneys from Connecticut Legal Services, Inc., the New Haven Legal Assistance Association and Greater Hartford Legal Aid asked the OCR to tell Connecticut to revise its vaccine rollout to include people with underlying health conditions that put them at risk of contracting COVID-19, regardless of their age, and individuals who hold jobs that put them at heightened risk of contracting the virus, as identified by the Centers for Disease Control.

The complaint is at least the second filed since Feb. 22, when officials announced the COVID-19 vaccine would be distributed on the basis of age. Disability Rights Connecticut filed a similar complaint days later, claiming the new rollout “constitutes disability discrimination” that violates federal law.

Author(s): Kelan Lyons

Publication Date: 8 March 2021

Publication Site: CT Mirror

Restaurants and other business can go back to full capacity on March 19 as Lamont rolls back COVID restrictions in CT

Mary Pat Campbell
Restaurants and other business can go back to full capacity on March 19 as Lamont rolls back COVID restrictions in CT

Graphic:

Excerpt:

Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday that Connecticut will eliminate capacity limits on restaurants, houses of worship, retailers and most businesses on March 19 but will retain mandates for social distancing and masks as a precaution against a resurgence of COVID-19.

The rollback comes as about 60% of Connecticut residents 65 and older have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, helping to drive down hospitalizations, new infections and deaths to their lowest point in 2021, though still higher than last summer.

The governor’s announcement was expected. It comes after Texas, Mississippi and three other states took more aggressive steps to end mask mandates and business restrictions, a move denounced as premature by President Joe Biden.

Author(s): MARK PAZNIOKAS, JENNA CARLESSO

Publication Date: 4 March 2021

Publication Site: CT Mirror

Breaking with national recommendations, Lamont says Connecticut’s vaccine rollout will now be prioritized by age

Mary Pat Campbell
Breaking with national recommendations, Lamont says Connecticut’s vaccine rollout will now be prioritized by age

Excerpt:

Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday he is throwing out the state’s current playbook for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout – which had prioritized people with underlying medical conditions and certain types of workers, such as grocery store and agricultural employees – and is shifting to a system that is strictly age-based, with the next round of shots open to people who are 55 to 64 beginning March 1.

The announcement came just as the state was supposed to open up the next round of vaccines to “essential workers” such as teachers and other school staff, grocery store employees and transportation workers, as well as people 16 and older who have underlying health conditions like heart disease and diabetes.

State officials said teachers and others who work in the schools will still be prioritized in the coming weeks, with special clinics devoted just to those employees. Schools staff is expected to become eligible beginning March 1, with a goal of giving all workers who want a shot access to a first dose by late March.

Author(s): JENNA CARLESSO and KEITH M. PHANEUF

Publication Date: 22 February 2021

Publication Site: CT Mirror

State closes COVID recovery facilities as nursing home cases continue to fall

Mary Pat Campbell
State closes COVID recovery facilities as nursing home cases continue to fall

Excerpt:

The state is closing the two COVID-19 recovery centers for nursing home residents in Meriden and Torrington because the number of infections has fallen to the point that they are no longer necessary.

“Athena Health Care Systems was pleased to partner with the state of Connecticut to operate COVID recovery centers in Meriden and Torrington to help some of our most vulnerable patients recover as well as keep our nursing home residents safe,” Athena Director of Marketing Timothy Brown said.

“We are pleased to say that we are now able to close both recovery centers. It really is positive news — it means that things are going in the right direction when it comes to this pandemic and that the recovery center model has worked.”

Author(s): DAVE ALTIMARI

Publication Date: 18 February 2021

Publication Site: CT Mirror

Fatal drug overdoses increased by 13% in 2020, with biggest increase during height of pandemic

Mary Pat Campbell
Fatal drug overdoses increased by 13% in 2020, with biggest increase during height of pandemic

Graphic:

Excerpt:

The state saw a 13% increase in fatal drug overdoses in 2020, with most deaths occurring from April to July, when the state was going through the first round of the pandemic.

There were 1,359 fatal overdoses in 2020, with 78 cases still under investigation, according to state Department of Public Health data. In 2019, there were 1,200 deaths.

Author(s): DAVE ALTIMARI

Publication Date: 18 February 2021

Publication Site: CT Mirror

Boston Fed chief predicts strong economic recovery begins in 2nd half of 2021 if vaccine reaches enough people

Mary Pat Campbell
Boston Fed chief predicts strong economic recovery begins in 2nd half of 2021 if vaccine reaches enough people

Excerpt:

While the ongoing rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine is promising, federal and state policymakers, as well as business leaders, will have to act to reverse an economic decline that has exacerbated longstanding inequalities, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston warned Friday.

Speaking at Yale University’s Economic Development Synmposium, Eric S. Rosengren predicted the national and regional economies could see significant gains in the second half of 2021, provided the vaccine distribution is successful.

“The disparate economic outcomes for some individuals and groups during the pandemic have further exacerbated longstanding issues in our economy,” Rosengren said. “The uneven nature of this downturn has highlighted the need to rebuild the economy in a more inclusive way.”

Author(s): Keith Phaneuf

Publication Date: 19 February 2021

Publication Site: CT Mirror

State goes over 100,000 dose mark in vaccinations of long-term care residents and staff

Mary Pat Campbell
State goes over 100,000 dose mark in vaccinations of long-term care residents and staff

Excerpt:

More than 110,000 doses of COVID vaccine have been administered in the state’s long-term care facilities since late December, and state official estimate they are about two-thirds of the way to completing vaccinations of those residents.

Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week show that 110,016 vaccines have been administered through the long-term care facility partnership through which CVS and Walgreens pharmacists have vaccinated residents staff at nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Connecticut.

Author(s): DAVE ALTIMARI

Publication Date: 12 February 2021

Publication Site: CT Mirror

Lamont leans heavily on federal aid to keep taxes flat in CT

Mary Pat Campbell
Lamont leans heavily on federal aid to keep taxes flat in CT

Excerpt:

Gov. Ned Lamont proposed a two-year, $46 billion budget Wednesday that relies on federal funding and state reserves to close a major deficit without significant tax hikes while bolstering aid for municipalities and school districts.

But the package also leaves Connecticut with several budget challenges to be resolved in the not-so-distant future.

The package would channel more than $400 million in emergency federal relief  to low-performing school districts. But it also would suspend plans to bolster regular state-funded aid for municipal schools by $90 million in the next two-year budget cycle.

Author(s): Keith Phaneuf

Publication Date: 10 February 2021

Publication Site: CT Mirror