Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported August 31 that COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations both increased but are still considered "Low." Total cases for the week increased by 28 to 545. Hospitalizations nearly doubled to 58 after falling to 30 the previous week. The BA.5 variant has become the predominant variant of COVID-19.
As of August 30, there has not been a COVID-related death in 12 days, with the August total holding at 11, for a pandemic total of 707 (the VDH report could be updated as more data becomes available). Vermont now has the lowest COVID death rate in the nation, at 113 per 100,000 population.
There were 12 deaths from COVID in Vermont in both June and July. June and July had the fewest COVID fatalities since July 2021 (2). The Delta variant then took off in August 2021.
With the approval on September 1 of the new Omicron booster, you can no longer get the existing boosters. The new Omicron boosters are expected within the next few days.
Vermonters are reminded that all state COVID testing sites were closed as of June 25. PCR and take-home tests will be available through doctors' offices, pharmacies and via mail from the federal government. See more information BELOW or here: https://www.healthvermont.gov/covid-19/testing
Current Surveillance Report Summary:
Vermont's COVID-19 Community Level is LOW.
The following indicators are all in the LOW range:
- Rate of COVID-19 cases
- Rate of COVID-19 among people being admitted to the hospital
- Percent of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients
The volume of people going to emergency departments due to COVID-like symptoms has been level after several weeks of decline.
There is nothing of immediate concern in Vermont's wastewater data, which tends to show weekly variation but overall remains significantly lower than the Spring of 2022.
Outbreaks and situations of concern in long-term care, corrections, and health facilities remains significantly lower than in May.
The Health Department updated its definition of Up to Date Vaccination Status to align with the CDC — people who have received all recommended doses of vaccine they are eligible for. Up to Date numbers now reflect Vermonters age 50+ who have received a second booster and those age 5 to 11 who have received a booster.
Because of this change, the overall percentage of Vermonters who are Up to Date has decreased.
Report Timeframe: August 21 to August 27, 2022
Statewide community levels: Low. For this seven-day reporting period, the rate of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 Vermonters is below 200. New COVID-19 admissions are below 10 per 100,000 Vermonters per day, and the percent of staffed hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 is below 10%.
• New COVID-19 cases, last 7 days: 87.34 per 100k (82.85 per 100K last week)
o Weekly case count: 545 (increase from previous week, 517, and increased from two weeks ago, 451)
• New hospital admissions of patients with COVID-19, last 7 days: 9.30 per 100K (4.81 per 100K last week)
o 58 total new admissions with COVID-19 (increase from previous week, 30)
• Percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by patients with COVID-19 (7-day average): 3.89% (increase from previous week, 2.44%)
Vermont Department of Health recommendations: Protect Yourself & Others
CDC recommendations: COVID-19 by County | CDC
There were 49 COVID-19 related fatalities in Vermont in September 2021, and 47 deaths in October, which are the fifth- and sixth-worst months on record. There were 42 fatalities in November, 62 in December, and 65 in January 2022, 59 in February, 17 in March, 19 in April and 32 in May, as fatalities rose early in the month before falling off. There were 12 deaths in June and 12 in July. There have been 11 COVID-related fatalities so far in Vermont in August.
The Delta variant caused a surge in COVID-related fatalities last fall and into the winter. More than half of all deaths overall have been of Vermonters 80 or over.
While the highest concentration of deaths was from September 2021 through February 2022, December 2020 was the worst month with 71.
Vermont has the lowest fatality rate in the US (113 per 100K), recently surpassing Hawaii (115/K). Mississippi (429/K) and Arizona (427/K) are the highest. There has been a total of 1,043,838 COVID-related deaths to date in the US and 6,485,017 globally.
Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD, has said the BA.5 variant is highly transmissible and has caused an uptick in cases and hospitalizations across the nation; the Northeast has seen the smallest increase.
Dr Levine has said that reconfigured vaccines and boosters would become available soon and the CDC gave approval to the new Omicron vaccines on August 31. The highly infectious, though less dangerous, BA.4 and BA.5 variants have come dominant this year. He added that vaccines for the COVID virus would likely be an annual event, similar to how there is an annual flu shot that is configured for the particular active strains.
Hospitalizations Over Time
The seven-day rolling average of hospital patients admitted with a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection peaked in January 2022 and increased again throughout April and into early May. The number of daily COVID-19-positive admissions is currently at its highest point since the end of May 2022. The number is the daily average of the previous seven days; for example, the value for May 28 is the daily average for the days of May 21 through May 27.
1 All Vermont hospitals and two urgent care clinics are included in ESSENCE.
Source: Kavet, Rockler & Associates, LLC. Economic and Public Policy Consulting. Williamstown, Vermont. July 2022
TESTING
How to get tested in Vermont
At-home antigen tests (also called rapid tests or self-tests) meet many testing needs and are widely available at pharmacies around the state and at online retailers.
- Buy online or in pharmacies and retail stores: Some health insurance plans can cover the cost of at-home tests. You may be able to show your insurance card at the pharmacy and get test kits at no cost to you. Some health plans may require you to pay for the tests and then be reimbursed. Learn more about insurance coverage
- Order free tests through COVID.gov: Every home in the U.S. can order a third round of FREE at-home tests mailed directly to them. Order free tests at COVID.gov
- Contact your health care provider: Medical practices may offer other COVID-19 testing options.
HELP Getting Tests
If you cannot get at-home antigen tests from the options above, you can call the Health Department at 802-863-7200, or check with your local health office.
Non-profit community organizations may qualify for free at-home tests by mail if they work with Vermonters who may have difficulty getting tests due to overall systemic inequities. This includes Vermonters who are Black, Indigenous or people of color (BIPOC), speak languages other than English, are experiencing homelessness, have a disability or other groups. Please email [email protected].
Food shelves, libraries, and municipal offices who are interested in distributing COVID-19 at-home tests in their community can also email [email protected].
If you are homebound, you can get a PCR test in your home. Homebound means you are not able to leave your home for scheduled medical care or non-medical appointments. Call 802-863-7200 (toll-free 800-464-4343), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Translated videos on where to get tests from the Vermont Language Justice Project: ASL | العربية (Arabic) | မြန်မာစာ (Burmese) | دری (Dari) | English | Français (French) | Kirundi | Maay Maay | Mandarin | नेपाली (Nepali) | پښتو (Pashto) | Soomaai (Somali) | Español (Spanish) | Kiswahili (Swahili) | Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
TEST KIT EXPIRATION DATES
Many test expiration dates have been extended. Check information below for new dates by brand:
FDA information on tests.
Check Intrivo on/go tests.
Check iHealth tests.
Check FlowFlex tests.
When to get Tested
- If you have symptoms of COVID-19 ─ even if the symptoms are mild, and even if you previously had COVID-19. Test as soon as possible.
- If you are a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19 and you are not vaccinated or not up to date on your vaccines. Learn more about when close contacts should get tested.
If you test positive and you are age 65 or older or have a medical condition that may put you at risk, reach out to your health care provider to ask about treatment — as soon as you get a positive test result. Learn more about treatment.
Find tips and learn more from the CDC about self-testing
Learn about Test Types
At-home antigen test
- Is approved for ages 2 and older.
- Best when two tests are taken at least 24 hours apart.
- Should be used if you tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 90 days. Other test types, such as PCR, could continue to give a positive result because of your previous infection.
PCR test
- Is approved for all ages, including under 2 years.
- May be available through your physician's office.
Test instructions and translations
Report Your Results
If there is no option to automatically report your self-test result, please report results (positive or negative) to the Health Department using our online form. Your response is confidential, and reporting your test result helps the Health Department understand how many Vermonters are being tested for COVID-19 and how the virus is spreading in our communities.