Health & Fitness
'Nobody Wants Mandates': Lamont Urges Residents To Get Vaccinated
With decisions looming on masks in schools and high school sports in the fall, officials are urging residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
CONNECTICUT — While state officials say that COVID-19 vaccines are widely available throughout Connecticut, they are continuing to sound the alarm that more shots need to get into the arms of Connecticut residents.
Connecticut's vaccination rate is at 70 percent, or fourth in the country, Gov. Ned Lamont said during a news conference in New Haven Monday, but with the Delta variant of the virus is moving quickly through the state and the country.
"Nobody wants mandates, I know how tired people are of mandates," Lamont said, stressing that there are no plans to require residents to get vaccinated.
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However, the state is working with Griffin Hospital and others to ramp up mobile vaccination efforts in communities around the state.
"I don't know where this virus is going to go, but I know that if people get vaccinated, that's the best protection we have against it," Lamont said.
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The highly infectious Delta variant is now the dominant strain of the virus not only in the U.S., but also in Connecticut, officials said.
While Connecticut's 70 percent vaccination rate is good, it is "nowhere near the 80 percent we need for herd immunity" to be effective in significantly slowing down the spread of the virus, said Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz.
"We are seeing a pandemic of the unvaccinated, in our state and around the country," Bysiewicz said.
Where Connecticut is the most resistance to vaccination is among residents under the age of 30, especially those who are between the ages of 12 and 24, officials said.
Lamont is holding off on a final decision on masks in schools, and what to do with high school and youth sports this fall, but he said state and education officials, and coaches with the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, will discuss what to do over the next few weeks.
In the meantime, Lamont and other officials encouraged young adults and teens to get vaccinated.
"The more young people who get vaccinated, the better chance we have for a successful school reopening," Bysiewicz said.
See also from across Connecticut:
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