By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Gov. Chris Sununu warned the 300,000 people eligible to register for COVID-19 vaccinations Friday at 8 a.m. to expect a long wait, but said the state is prepared for at least 100,000 contacts through the website vaccines.nh.gov and if people aren’t able to use a computer, they can call 211.
“Have some patience. Give it some time…patience, patience, patience,” Sununu said at his news conference Thursday.
Those eligible to register Friday are people age 65 and older, medically vulnerable people, caretakers of children under 16 who are medically vulnerable, staff and residents at institutions for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, corrections officers and staff, and populations that experience health disparities.
Sununu also reacted to criticism from the National Education Association-NH that members of the ski patrol are eligible to receive the vaccine before teachers. He said the reasoning behind the different phases of vaccinations is to reduce deaths and hospitalizations. He has previously said he included ski patrol members as first responders who may have to provide life-saving assistance.
There are 75,000 teachers and staff and to put them into Phase 1b would be putting them ahead of the most vulnerable, Sununu said.
Sununu said 90 percent of teachers are under age 65 and the average age is 46. Experience has shown that it is not necessary to vaccinate teachers in order to open schools, Sununu said.
He said the assertion that teachers need to be vaccinated for schools to be open for in-person instruction is wrong.
“That is 100 percent false and I’m trying to change that narrative,” Sununu said.
He said no school K-12 has experienced a major outbreak.
“We have seen incredibly low transmissibility within the schools that have returned to in-person learning. There’s absolutely no reason that schools need to close for the long-term,” he said.
NEA-NH has said that New Hampshire is one of only two states — along with New Jersey — that will not vaccinate educators by Phase 1b — in defiance of CDC guidelines that say Phase 1b of the vaccine rollout should prioritize frontline educators.
“Chris Sununu left our educators and school staff behind before when he punted all responsibility for safely re-opening schools. Now, he’s leaving them behind again,” said NEA-NH President Megan Tuttle. “We are calling on Governor Sununu to follow the lead of other states and prioritize vaccinating our teachers with high-risk first responders.”
By the Numbers
Dr. Ben Chan, state epidemiologist, said there were 925 new COVID-19 cases Thursday bringing the total to 6,204 active cases in New Hampshire. The community transmission rate is trending down at 6.8 percent. There are 240 people in the hospital for COVID-19 and 12 more people have died bringing the total deaths to 962, Chan said.
Six of the 12 deaths were people associated with long-term care facilities, also a downward trend by percentage. Chan said that is an early indication that the vaccination programs in long-term care facilities are succeeding in reducing deaths.
Still, 65 people have died from COVID-19 in the last week and Chan urged everyone to continue to be vigilant about social distancing, mask wearing, and avoiding social gatherings. He also suggested continuing to restrict non-essential travel.
“Until there are high rates of vaccination in communities, people need to practice mitigation measures,” Chan said.
New President
Sununu congratulated President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and praised Biden’s inauguration speech.
“The speech definitely struck the right tone at the right moment for our country,” Sununu said.
He said he is looking forward to opening up lines of communication with the administration “to help make sure New Hampshire has a voice.”
Vaccine Doses
Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette said the state received 17,000 vials of vaccine last week and administered that amount.
“We are vaccinating people as quickly as we are receiving the vaccine,” Shibinette said.
The state is guaranteeing the second dose to people and the 17,000 doses the state receives each week are really for the first shot. The state also receives enough doses for the required second shots, Dr. Beth Daly said.
Sununu said he also hopes that vaccines manufactured by Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca will be approved in March.