Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Medical Center is entering its second week of COVID-19 vaccinations and is pleased to begin administering the vaccine to community-based providers. The hospital continues to vaccinate its own patient-facing staff as well as EMS personnel. The process for vaccine distribution was developed by the CDC and Vermont Department of Health and all Vermont hospitals are playing a part in assisting with its implementation.

Vermont Business Magazine As COVID-19 case growth in Vermont has stabilized, Governor Phil Scott on Tuesday announced a small, temporary modification to restrictions on multi-household gatherings during the holidays, a phased restart of youth sports and restoration of earlier guidance allowing outdoor activities. Between December 23 and January 2, households may gather with one other trusted household. State officials stress that, while gathering with one other household is allowed, anyone over the age of 65, those with pre-existing conditions and those who work with vulnerable populations should avoid gatherings.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (VAHHS), which represents all of Vermont’s 14 non-profit hospitals, announced this week new information in the State’s planned distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations. Hospitals have stepped up since the outset of the pandemic — sharing PPE, organizing community testing, helping to plan for a surge of patients and, most recently, leading efforts to vaccinate the first phase (1a) of Vermonters as outlined by the CDC and the State of Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan, along with the attorneys general of 27 states, has entered into a settlement with Sabre Corporation that resolves an investigation into the 2017 data breach of Sabre Hospitality Solutions’ hotel booking system. The breach exposed the data of approximately 1.3 million credit cards. The settlement requires a payment of $2.4 million, of which the State of Vermont will receive $397,000 and injunctive relief.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan announced today that his office has reached a $150,000 settlement with TPB International, LLC, which operates www.vaporfi.com, for violations of Vermont’s Delivery Sales Ban and Vermont’s Consumer Protection Act. Under the settlement, TPB International, LLC resolved claims that it sold through its website electronic cigarettes, e-liquids, and other tobacco paraphernalia to individual consumers. As of July 1, 2019, it is illegal to sell electronic cigarettes and related “vaping” products over the internet to individual Vermont consumers.

Vermont Business Magazine The Community Health Centers of Burlington (CHCB) is pleased to announce a mask distribution partnership with Mellisa Cain of Iceberg Consulting, LLC. Cain first connected with CHCB to donate masks through her ONE Mask Initiative over the summer and now, with funds from the COVID-19 Relief Fund through the Vermont Department of Health HOC Health Equity and Community Engagement Team, has partnered with them to purchase and distribute over 9,000 CDC-approved face masks. These masks are being distributed to community members with a specific focus on those with Limited English Proficiency. Cain co-found the website www.NewAmericansInVermont.com to provide COVID-19 information and community resources in over a dozen languages. She and CHCB share a mission of ‘meeting people where they are at’ to expand access to critical human services.

Vermont Business Magazine On Tuesday, Governor Phil Scott announced a small, temporary modification to restrictions on multi-household gatherings during the holidays. Between December 23rd and January 2nd, households may gather with one other trusted household. Also, the next PPP webinar will be today, Wednesday, December 23rd from 9:00am to 10:30am

Vermont Business Magazine The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which has received emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration, arrived at the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation (CLR), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), Tuesday. The vaccine was administered by Walgreens Pharmacy. This is the first of three clinics that will be held to ensure that the entire staff and resident population receives two shots, as is recommended to achieve immunity.

Vermont Business Magazine With many in-person events canceled through 2021, the Vermont Specialty Food Association (VSFA) and the Vermont Retail and Grocers Association (VRGA) are working together to bring specialty food producers and wholesale buyers together virtually. The 2021 Virtual Tasting Series will invite some of Vermont’s best specialty food producers (think maple, chocolate, jams, coffee, pickles, snacks, and everything in between) to pitch to wholesale buyers of all shapes and sizes.

GMP Alerting Customers as Meteorologists Say Regionwide Christmas Eve Storm Has Potential for Outages

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power (GMP) is reminding customers to be alert to the forecast, as meteorologist predict a regionwide warm, wet weather system bringing the possibility of strong winds that could take down trees and power lines, along with one to two inches of rain and the potential for localized flooding Thursday into Friday. GMP has been tracking this storm for days and is urging customers to be safe.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported a continued easing of new COVID-19 cases in Vermont, in the region and across most of the nation. There were 66 new cases reported today and one death for a total of 112. VDH also said that while there are more hospitalizations and ICU stays, there is plenty of capacity at the state's hospitals. With that relatively good news, Governor Phil Scott today announced a small, temporary modification to restrictions on multi-household gatherings during the holidays, a phased restart of youth sports and restoration of earlier guidance allowing outdoor activities. Between December 23 and January 2, households may gather with one other trusted household. State officials stress that, while gathering with one other household is allowed, anyone over the age of 65, those with pre-existing conditions and those who work with vulnerable populations should avoid gatherings.

The UVM Health Network has made good progress recovering from a cyberattack nearly two months ago, with some work remaining to complete. Today, we shared more information about the attack and our response, and confirmed that it was ransomware. Our IT staff did find a note, which did not request money, but included instructions to contact the criminals responsible for the attack. UVM Health Network leaders did not follow those instructions and instead contacted the FBI. Based upon a thorough assessment by IT security experts, we have concluded that no Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), or employee information was accessed or taken.