Tag: public policy

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

Grocery store workers ‘disgusted’ with Lamont’s new COVID-19 vaccine policy

Mary Pat Campbell
Grocery store workers ‘disgusted’ with Lamont’s new COVID-19 vaccine policy

Excerpt:

Lamont abandoned the state’s previous methodology for a vaccination rollout, which had prioritized people with underlying medical conditions and certain types of workers in essential, high-risk jobs.

But the governor’s announcement Monday — which ironically was made the same day the national Food Industry Association celebrated “Supermarket Employee Day” — shifted to a priority system that is strictly age-based, with one exception: school employees and child care providers. The next round of shots will open March 1 to people who are between ages 55 and 64, teachers and others who work in schools, and day care workers.

Besides grocery story workers, the administration also had been considering giving priority in this next phase to transportation workers, as well as people 16 and older who have underlying health conditions like heart disease and diabetes, and teachers and other school staff. Only the last group is being given priority in Lamont’s new plan.

Author(s): Keith Phaneuf

Publication Date: 23 February 2021

Publication Site: CT Mirror

Will Connecticut’s New Vaccine Plan Achieve Its Goals?

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.governing.com/now/Will-Connecticuts-New-Vaccine-Plan-Achieve-Its-Goals.html

Excerpt:

 In announcing a surprising new vaccine distribution plan Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont said Connecticut’s approach was designed with two factors in mind: speed and equity.

“Broadly speaking, these are our goals for vaccination,” Lamont said. “Get as many people vaccinated as we possibly can … and complement that with equity, knowing full that our Black and brown population here in this state and around the country are twice as likely to suffer complications from an infection and half as likely to get vaccinated.”

But experts are divided on whether the new strategy will truly accomplish those goals — and particularly whether it will truly maximize equity. While state and hospital officials say this plan, which establishes priority groups almost strictly by age, will create a smoother, faster rollout, skeptics worry the new eligibility guidelines are not as inclusive as those the Lamont administration jettisoned.

Author(s): EMILY BRINDLEY, HARTFORD COURANT

Publication Date: 25 February 2021

Publication Site: Governing

The Never-Ending Economic Tragedy of Argentina

Mary Pat Campbell
The Never-Ending Economic Tragedy of Argentina

Graphic:

Excerpt:

I’m tempted to say the big takeaway from today’s column is that wealth taxes are a bad idea.

That’s true, of course, but the bigger lesson we should absorb is that a rich nation can become a poor nation.

Simply stated, if a government imposes enough bad policies – as has been the case in Argentina – then it’s just a matter of time before it declines relative to nations with sensible policies.

Author(s): Dan Mitchell

Publication Date: 10 July 2020

Publication Site: International Liberty

There is almost no evidence that vaccinated individuals can transmit the virus to others

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://polimath.substack.com/p/in-which-i-finally-lose-my-mind

Excerpt:

Where does this idea that a vaccinated person could still be carrying COVID come from? Whenever you dig into the details of this concept, it comes from the fact that a rigorous study of asymptomatic COVID transmission among vaccinated participants was not a part of the Phase 3 study. In other words, we cannot *prove* that COVID *doesn’t* asymptomatically tag along for the ride in a vaccinated person.

When it comes to transmitting COVID to another person, a mask is only helpful for airborne transmission. That means the virus would have to be coming from your upper respiratory tract for a mask to be effective at stopping it. But if there is enough COVID virus in your upper respiratory tract for you to be transmitting it, then there is enough COVID virus for a testing swab to detect. In essence, if you had enough virus in your exhalations to infect another person, you would be testing positive for COVID… which is exactly the observed measurement that the vaccine prevents.

Author: PoliMath

Publication Date: 22 January 2021

Publication Site: Marginally Compelling