On this first day of June, hospitalizations in Connecticut are below 100 (94) for the first time since 9/29/20.

It had fallen to below 100 on 6/29/20 and stayed there all summer. 

It’s been a long struggle with Covid. Our healthcare workers have been heroic. Our teachers and school staff have adapted and adapted again. Our public employees have not only kept the essential functions running, they have taken on new and ever changing responsibilities. 

A point of personnel privileged. I am very proud to be part o f a union of professionals, a union of caregivers, educators, and public servants. Words are not enough, but thank you and solidarity my sisters and brothers.

Things are improving, but we’re not done yet.

63% of Connecticut has received at least one vacination and 54% are fully vaccinated. While this is great, demand is slowing and there are still many more to vaccinate, and the unvaccinated and children under 12 are still vulnerable.

Info from DPH today, including this statement:

COVID-19 Control Measures: Healthcare facilities should no longer use crisis capacity strategies for N95s/respirators as the supply and availability of NIOSH-approved respirators has increased and COVID-19 cases rates are reduced. 

This week’s updates for Connecticut Physicians, APRNs, PAs, and RNs from DPH:

 

COVID-19 Epidemiology: COVID-19 case rates are generally low in Connecticut, though hot-spots remain. Unvaccinated individuals remain at risk for COVID-19 infection. As SARS-CoV-2 Variant Surveillance continues, B.1.1.7 remains the most dominant variant in CT.

 

COVID-19 Vaccines: Vaccine safety monitoring, vaccine effectiveness studies, and vaccine breakthrough surveillance are ongoing.

 

Now is the time to be proactive with patient outreach and use existing patient communication channels to reach families with children eligible for COVID-19 vaccine and younger children overdue for routine vaccines.  

• A recommendation from a trusted healthcare professional can make parents feel empowered and ready to vaccinate younger children when ACIP makes that recommendation.
• Commentaries and review articles from experts in this issue of Academic Pediatrics highlight effective strategies to improve vaccination coverage among children and adolescents.
• All healthcare practitioners are encouraged to play an active role in enabling access to COVID-19 vaccines to their patients.
• See the attached pdf for suggestions and scripts for you/your staff to create a video encouraging patients to get vaccinated. 

COVID-19 Control Measures: Healthcare facilities should no longer use crisis capacity strategies for N95s/respirators as the supply and availability of NIOSH-approved respirators has increased and COVID-19 cases rates are reduced. 

• Healthcare facilities should stop using non-NIOSH-approved respirators and consider using any that have been stored for source control where additional respiratory protection is not necessary.
• Respirators that were previously used and decontaminated should not be stored.
• In addition CDC guidance updates, FDA has posted a letter about transition from use of non-NIOSH-approved and decontaminated disposable respirators 

COVID-19 Testing: Check out CDC’s Test for Current Infection guidance to see who should and should not get tested. 

 

Learning Resources to share: Help patients make the decision to get vaccinated using key points from CDC’s Science Brief on COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination.  

• All COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the U.S. are effective against COVID-19, including severe disease, hospitalization, and death.
• Available evidence suggests the currently authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccines provide protection against a variety of strains, including B.1.1.7 and B.1.351.
• A growing body of evidence indicates that people fully vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine are less likely to transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others. Studies are underway to learn more about the benefits of Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine.
• The risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection in fully vaccinated people cannot be completely eliminated as long as there is continued community transmission of the virus.
• At this time, there are limited data on vaccine effectiveness in people who have immunocompromising conditions. Providers should discuss the need for personal protective measures after vaccination with patients with immunocompromising conditions, including those taking immunosuppressive medications. 

CDC’s COCA Call on Evaluating and Caring for Patients with Post-COVID Conditions has been postponed. Enter your email on CDC’s COCA page for clinician outreach/updates from CDC.

 

CT DPH Provider call-in: We are moving to an every-other-week cadence. Please join us next Friday, June 11 for our next Healthcare Updates and Q&A session. Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIld-6rqzMuE9dMkSPTxj1d_VcGeyWMWKVK