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COVID-19 Vaccines Working to Bring Transmission Down

Signaling an increase in supply, and to make the COVID-19 vaccine more accessible, the Connecticut River Area Health District (CRAHD) has started to offer inoculation clinics without an appointment in recent weeks. CRAHD’s teen-only clinics are also targeting the most recently eligible age group for the vaccine as of April 1, which includes 16-, 17-, and 18-year-olds.

State data, as of April 28, shows steady progress in vaccinating the communities of Chester, Deep River and Essex. Overall, 58.58 percent of Chester residents, 60.27 percent of Deep River residents and 68.16 percent of Essex residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

When broken out by age, the data shows high percentages of residents age 65 and up having received at least one dose of the vaccine. For those in this age category, 91.53 percent of residents in Chester, 100 percent of residents in Deep River, and 100 percent of residents in Essex have received at least one dose.

For residents age 45 to 64, there was 60.51 percent in Chester, 74.70 percent in Deep River, and 70.72 percent in Essex having received at least one dose of the vaccine.

For residents age 15 to 44, there was 50.25 percent in Chester, 45.64 percent in Deep River, and 56.96 percent in Essex having received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Despite such high rates of inoculation, Chester was designated in the red-alert category of transmission for the two-week period of April 11 to 24, according to state data as of April 29.

The town had 9 cases with a transmission rate of 15.2 during that time period. Of those nine cases, one included a case of COVID-19 at Chester Elementary School, which was announced publicly by the school district on April 23. It led to the quarantine of 17 students and 5 staff members.

The towns of Deep River and Essex showed low rates of transmission from April 11 to 24, according to state data.

Deep River was in the lowest category, denoted by gray on the state’s COVID-alert map, with 4 cases and a transmission rate of 6.4. Essex was in the second-lowest category of transmission, denoted by yellow, with 5 cases and a transmission rate of 5.4.

Towns throughout the state are also experiencing lower rates of transmission, although 97 of the 169 towns remained in the red category as of April 29.

In his daily press briefing on April 29, Governor Ned Lamont reported 486 new cases of COVID-19 in the state, saying it was down 50 percent from numbers over the last couple of weeks. The state’s positivity rate was at 1.34 percent.

After easing restrictions on certain industries on May 1, Lamont anticipates lifting remaining business restrictions on Wednesday, May 19, based on low transmission and progress in inoculating residents against the virus.

For the most up-to-date list of walk-up clinics, visit ct.gov/covidvaccine/walkup.