NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Hospitals in New Haven and Hartford received their first deliveries of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine Tuesday, the second day of distribution in Connecticut.
Yale New Haven Hospital and Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford each received about 2,000 doses and planned to begin vaccinating health care staff in the several hospitals run by their parent organizations.
“We’re so proud. We’re ready to crush COVID,” said Stacy Vaeth, executive director of pharmacy at Yale New Haven Hospital. “It’s a bright day for us and we’re very excited to be a part of this movement.”
The first doses in the state arrived Monday at Hartford Hospital. First priority for the vaccine in Connecticut is being given to frontline health workers who treat COVID-19 patients. Next week, shipments of the vaccine are expected be transported to CVS and Walgreens distribution centers and then sent to nursing homes throughout Connecticut.
Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont said the state is expected to receive a total of about 32,600 doses this week, with most arriving by the end of Wednesday just before the first big winter storm of the season is projected to hit. Connecticut is bracing for 12-to-18 inches of snow, beginning Wednesday night.
Appearing with Department of Transportation Commissioner Joseph Giulietti, Lamont said Connecticut will be working with neighboring states to make sure trucks delivering the vaccine aren’t impeded, especially if there’s a decision to bar tractor trailers from traveling during the storm.
“We’re working hard to track our vaccines - they come in by truck - and make sure they can work around the storm and make sure the vaccinations can continue to happen with as little pause as we can possibly muster,” Lamont said.
From mid-January to May, about 1 million people in the state are expected to get vaccinated. They include critical workers, people living in other congregate settings, people over age 65 and those under age 65 who are high risk. All others are expected to have access to a vaccine in June.
Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases has increased by 1,084.7, an increase of 71.9%, according to data through Dec. 14 from The COVID Tracking Project. On Tuesday, Connecticut officials reported 1,269 COVID hospitalizations, an increase of 26 from Monday. Also, there were 5,466 COVID-associated deaths, an increase of 22 from the total released Monday.
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