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State also warns Vermonters that ticks are active now, so know how to avoid bites
Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health has confirmed a case of human illness due to West Nile virus. This is the first such case since 2017. A Chittenden County resident was diagnosed earlier this month with neuroinvasive disease – a more serious form of the illness which affects the nervous system. The individual was hospitalized but has since been released.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health is reporting today that COVID-19 cases increased today after a steep drop Wednesday, but remain under 200. COVID cases fell from 265 on Sunday to 140 on Monday to 91 Wednesday to 164 today. Cases spiked last Thursday to their fourth highest number on record. The four worst days for cases have all come since mid-September, as the Delta variant has taken over since early July. However, the VDH also reported today two more deaths for 356 statewide. The vast majority of fatalities have come among those 80 and over, while having by far the fewest number of infections for any age band. Both fatalities reported Wednesday were in this age band.

Vermont Business Magazine Agency of Human Services Secretary Mike Smith announced today that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will temporarily offer some available mental health inpatient beds at the White River Junction VA Medical Center to Vermonters requiring care. The agreement between the VA and the State was reached in response to strains in hospital emergency rooms due to higher volumes of patients requiring inpatient mental healthcare. It permits up to 10 acute mental health inpatient beds to be made available to adults, provided they would otherwise go unused.

Vermont Business Magazine Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (Blue Cross) announced today that the Blue MedicareRx Prescription Drug Plan was again awarded the highest star rating in Vermont for the fifth consecutive year. This is the only Medicare Part D program in Vermont to achieve an overall four and a half-star rating for 2022 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, in a joint venture with three other New England Blue plans, contracts with the federal government to offer prescription drug coverage, called Blue MedicareRx Prescription Drug Plan.

Vermont Business Magazine Ahead of a Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs hearing, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) Wednesday, October 20, introduced two bills to expand and improve comprehensive health care for veterans. The Veterans Dental Care Eligibility Expansion and Enhancement Act of 2021 – co-sponsored by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) – and the Veterans State Eligibility Standardization Act of 2021 will ensure universal dental care coverage for all veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and eliminate long-standing barriers to health care for veterans across the country.

Vermont State Police This two-vehicle crash occurred on VT RT 22A near 1725 VT RT 22A in the Town of West Haven, Vermont. Op#1, a 17-year-old juvenile male, was pinned in the vehicle and pronounced deceased at the scene. A 14-year-old juvenile male passenger in V#1 was transported to Rutland Regional Hospital for treatment of internal injuries. Due to the ages of the victims, their names are not being released at the present time.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health is reporting today that COVID-19 cases fell to under 100 today, which is continuing a general trend of fewer cases statewide. COVID cases fell from 265 on Sunday to 140 on Monday to 91 today. Cases spiked last Thursday to their fourth highest number on record. The four worst days for cases have all come since mid-September, as the Delta variant has taken over since early July. However, the VDH also reported today five more deaths for 356 statewide. Also today, the FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine for children 5-11 and the CDC is expected to follow suit next week.

Vermont Business Magazine Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore today at Governor Scott’s press briefing issued the new guidance for winter high school sports. With the exception of the “inversion” sports (going upside down like in gymnastics, cheer, wrestling), the indoor recommendations are similar to last year in which the athletes need to wear masks unless it is an outdoor sport like skiing. Moore, and Governor Scott, acknowledged that these were recommendations only because there is no State of Emergency and the governor cannot impose mandates on the school districts as he did during the early part of the COVID pandemic in 2020.

​by Cathy Davis. President of the Lake Champlain Chamber In the past two months, I have heard about housing challenges almost as much as I’ve heard about staffing shortages. Of course, they’re related. If employees can’t find housing, they have to move to where they can find it.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont) led a coalition of 40 bipartisan members in a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra, urging HHS to release Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds as quickly as possible and at the highest level available under the current continuing resolution.

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain College Online today announced findings from its survey, Adult Viewpoints 2021: The Cybersecurity Skills Gap and Barriers to Entry, which found that nearly 80% of American adults took action to protect themselves following recent cyber events and close to 30% of non-cyber workers were willing to consider a cyber career. The study highlighted an increased interest in cybersecurity and cybersecurity education, but it also brought to light barriers preventing potential cyber professionals from launching careers in the in-demand space that's ripe with job opportunities. The study revealed three distinct barriers — high expectations of prior training, lack of diversity and inclusion, and toxic work environments.

Vermont Business Magazine Open enrollment for 2022 health is here and analysts at QuoteWizard have found that the number of people without healthcare coverage in Vermont has declined by 79 percent since January to just 1 percent, according to the CDC's Household Pulse Survey. Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island have zero uninsured and Texas has the highest rate at 21 percent.