CT Coronavirus: Vaccine News & Town-By-Town Case Numbers

CONNECTICUT — Experts advising the Centers for Disease Control say there is a "likely link" between two coronavirus vaccines and heart inflammation in adolescents and young adults.

Reuters reported on the findings of the CDC's COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical Work Group that were released Wednesday.

The Connecticut State Department of Public Health reported 18 such cases of myocarditis last month.

The advisory group agreed with CDC staff recommendations that myocarditis risks in young people associated with the Pfizer and Moderna jabs did not outweigh the vaccines' benefits. Trade Journal Cardiology Today reported the Food & Drug Administration will be adding a warning about the risk to the labeling of both company's vaccines.

None of this news is going to help Connecticut move the needle very far in its push to vaccinate the remaining population of the state. Most of the holdouts, according to the latest data released by DPH, are between the ages of 16 and 34.

On Friday, Gov. Ned Lamont announced "Rock the Shot," a new initiative to get young people in the state to roll up their sleeves. The program is meant to encourage residents to get vaccinated by giving away chances to win pairs of tickets to music concerts.

The state may be lagging by its own standards, but it's earning top honors compared to many other areas of the United States. A CNBC analysis of CDC data indicated that the country will fail to fully vaccinate 160 million adult Americans and administer at least one shot to 70 percent of adults before July 4, the two "main goals" set by President Joe Biden last month.

As of Thursday, Connecticut residents who have received at least one vaccine dose by age group include 95 percent of those over the age of 65, 85 percent of those between 55-64, 74 percent of those between 45-54, 69 percent of those between 35-44, 60 percent of those between 25-34, 56 percent of those between 18-24, 63 percent of those between 16-17, and 44 percent of those between 12-15. As of Friday, Connecticut is behind only Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts in the percentage of their populations fully vaccinated against the virus.

The most vaccinated town in the state is Canaan, according to DPH, with 88.6 percent of the population fully vaccinated, and 98.1 percent with their first dose.

Outside of Connecticut and the U.S., the Delta variant of the coronavirus is wreaking havoc and may account for 90 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the European Union by the end of August, according to Science magazine. It's also causing surges in Russia, Indonesia, and many other countries. In the U.S., its prevalence is now estimated to be at least 14 percent, and last week the CDC upgraded it to a variant of concern.

Research from the United Kingdom suggest the risk of hospitalization may be twice as high in Delta variant cases, and the virus more than twice as transmissible.

Instances of the Delta variant in Connecticut are up eight cases, to 43, according to the most recent data from the state DPH.

The CDC has identified three types of coronavirus variants: variants of interest, variants of concern and variants of high consequence. The agency has also recently introduced a new category, "substitutions of therapeutic concern," which can be found across all variants, and may be more resilient against certain man-made antibodies.

Among the state's other variants of concern, Alpha is up from 3,229 to 3,273 cases. Instances of variant Epsilon dropped 131 cases, from 191 to 60. Variant Gamma is up 117 cases in the state, from 42 to 159. Cases of the Beta variant rose by just one case, to 40.

Among the variants of interest currently found in Connecticut, incidents of variant Zeta have stayed steady at nine. The variant Eta also held firm, at 21 cases. Cases of the variant of interest Iota was the big mover this week, climbing a whopping 760 cases, from 1,024 to 1,784. Instances of B.1.526.1 dropped from 259 to zero.

One substitution of therapeutic concern, E484K, was found in 1,062 variant cases, up from 1,051 last week. The other, L452R, was detected in 543 cases, up from 538 previously.

There were four more coronavirus-related deaths reported overnight. The death toll for the pandemic is 8,275, up five over the past week.

There was only one case of coronavirus this week among residents in a Connecticut nursing home, at the St. Mary Home in West Hartford. No deaths were reported in any nursing home nor assisted living centers located in the state.

Bolton, Somers and Prospect were the only Connecticut towns categorized any hotter than "gray" in the latest update of municipal alert levels issued by the state DPH. They remain in the yellow zone, with 7.3, 5.3 and 5.9 cases of coronavirus per 100,000 population during the last 2-week reporting period, respectively

Towns fall into the yellow zone when average daily cases are fewer than 5-9 cases per 100,000 population over a two-week average. The color codes correspond to guidance from the state Department of Public Health.

An additional 127 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in the state since Thursday, bringing that total to 349,120. With 28,755 tests reported, the daily positivity rate now sits at 0.44 percent.

The number of Connecticut residents hospitalized with COVID-19 is 36, up three beds over the past week.

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