Connecticut has received the state’s first doses of the coronavirus vaccine, but Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin is warning that while the news is a bit of light at the end of the tunnel, the virus is still a real threat and the public should continue to take precautions.
"We are right now in one of the most dangerous periods of this pandemic," Bronin said at a press conference Monday.
The city is seeing an average of 900 new cases per week over the first few weeks of December.
The mayor and city health officials said that the city has seen an expected post-Thanksgiving surge, and warned that residents should plan to celebrate the holidays differently this year, in small groups ideally only made up of your household.
Bronin said that the city is prepared to administer the vaccine to its own workforce at a minimum and will work to ensure it is accessible to those who want it.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended that health care providers and residents in long-term care facilities should be the first to get vaccinated. City officials said they anticipate the vaccine being available to the general public sometime in the summer.
There are currently 20 Hartford firefighters in quarantine, fire officials said, not due to on-duty calls but because of potential exposure from family members and social circles.
The city anticipates that firefighters and other first responders may be able to receive the vaccine in January as part of group 1B as defined by the state.
CT's COVID-19 Vaccination Plan
- Phase 1A: The first people to receive COVID-19 vaccinations will be healthcare workers, nursing home residents and medical first responders. Vaccines to these groups will be given in phase 1a. This phase will be effective from the start of vaccine distribution through mid-January, Gov. Ned Lamont said.
- Phase 1B: Includes critical workforce and other congregate settings, adults over 65, and those who are high-risk under the age of 65, according to the governor. People who fall under this group will be able to get vaccinated from mid-January to late May.
- Phase 2: Those under 18 years old and the remaining population will fall under phase 2 of vaccine distribution. People who fall under this category will be capable of being vaccinated in early June, Lamont said.
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