The first 1,950 COVID-19 vaccination doses arrived in Vermont on Monday, and state officials heralded the delivery as a turning point in the fight against a pandemic that has sickened thousands of Vermonters, killed nearly 100 and led to an extended state of emergency.

“This is a pivotal moment, one that marks the beginning of the end of the pandemic,” Health Commissioner Mark Levine said in a statement.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was only approved via an emergency authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week. Vermont is expected to get 5,850 doses this week, according to the Department of Health.

The initial shipment was divided up between the University of Vermont Medical Center and the State Vaccine Depot, which each got 975 doses, according to the department. State officials have said that Vermont will first immunize health care workers, first responders and residents of long-term care homes. Initial shipments will not be enough even for that population, however.

Updated at 5:12 p.m.

A 59-year-old Vermonter serving time for attempted murder died Sunday at a Mississippi prison, the Vermont Department of Corrections announced Monday.

Roberto Vargas of Newport City was found unresponsive in his cell at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility on Sunday morning and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter, according to a press release issued by the department.

Rachel Feldman, a department spokesperson, said it was not yet clear what caused Vargas' death, though she said it was not suspicious and did not appear to be related to a COVID-19 outbreak that has plagued the prison. According to Feldman, Vargas had tested negative for the virus prior to his death.
Defender General Matthew Valerio, who oversees Vermont's Prisoners' Rights Office, said he also was unaware of the cause of death. "The only thing I know is that it was somewhat unexpected because we aren't aware of any preexisting medical conditions that would have given rise to it," he said.

State officials on Saturday slammed the U.S. Department of Labor for removing Vermont from a federally funded unemployment insurance program that is currently providing payments to more than 800 Vermonters.

“For weeks, my Administration has called on the federal government to accept the bleak reality states are facing in combating this crisis and to act in support of its citizens, who were forced into unemployment through no fault of their own," Gov. Phil Scott said in a press release Saturday morning. "Instead, it appears it is turning its back on them."

"This decision comes at the height of a global pandemic, the middle of the holiday season and at the start of what will be a long winter," he said.

 The Extended Benefits program — which is unrelated to the two other federal unemployment programs that Congress created this spring to expand the social safety net amid the coronavirus pandemic — offers people who have already used up their 26 weeks of allotted state jobless benefits an additional 13 weeks of payments.

Only states with high reported unemployment rates are eligible for the program. Vermont's rate has steadily decreased since the summer, but state officials have argued that the way the feds calculate these figures — using surveys from the U.S. Census Bureau — misrepresents the actual number of people who are jobless.

Anticipating the state would trigger off the program this month, officials have repeatedly urged the U.S. Department of Labor to make an exception. But the department emailed state leaders Friday evening — at 5:52 p.m., the governor noted — to say the program would no longer be available in Vermont.

“We are extremely disappointed that the federal government has refused to recognize the real and distinct humanitarian crisis that this pandemic has created and instead is choosing to use outdated methodology resulting in benefits being cut for struggling Vermonters,” Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington said in a press release.

According to Harrington's department, more than two dozen other states have triggered off the Extended Benefits program since the initial blizzard of unemployment claims earlier this year.

The 885 people enrolled in the program in Vermont as of the first week in December will now see their benefits expire December 19. And nearly 20,000 more Vermonters relying on two other pandemic unemployment programs could lose their benefits a week later if Congress does not move to extend them.

While negotiations inched forward last week, there is still no clear picture of whether a deal will come together before the deadline.

“Thousands of families are relying on these benefits to simply survive," Harrington said. 

Days after a staff member at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility tested positive for COVID-19, follow-up testing found no other cases at the South Burlington women's prison, according to the Vermont Department of Corrections.

The facility has been locked down since Monday, when the staff member in question tested positive for the coronavirus. Those identified as having had close contact with the employee have been asked to quarantine. Late Friday, the department announced in a press release that all 198 inmates and staff tested Thursday were found to be negative.
“Our number one goal in the Vermont Department of Corrections is to keep our facilities clean of COVID-19,” interim Commissioner Jim Baker said in a written statement. “Because of the hard work of staff and our management team, Vermont leads the country in correctional systems that are successfully mitigating the spread of COVID.”

According to spokesperson Rachel Feldman, the department is planning to test inmates and staff again at a date to be determined. She said the facility would remain locked down for the time being. 

The Burlington police force is shrinking and the city needs a plan to replace the cops who have left, acting Chief Jon Murad said during a press conference Friday.

The department has 81 sworn officers, nine fewer than it did in June when the city council passed a resolution to reduce the force by attrition to 74 cops. Five of those cops said in exit interviews that they're leaving because of the council's efforts to "defund the police," Murad said.

And Murad expects the numbers to keep dropping. Two officers are expected to leave by early January, bringing the roster to 79. Six others could also leave next year: Three who are seeking other employment, two who will be on long-term military deployments and one who is taking a family leave. Still others could be tapped by the Vermont National Guard to help distribute the COVID-19 vaccine, Murad said.

When the number hits 76 officers, the department would have to cease coverage between 3 and 7:30 a.m., according to the chief. The officers on duty would be assigned to staff the police station and would only respond in person to the most serious calls, he said.

The shift "is not something that we are thinking about ending lightly," Murad said. "This is a serious move."

Tags: Ben & Jerry's , Colin Kaepernick , Change the Whirled , racial justice , Web Only , Image