RSSAll Entries in the "Covid 19 Coverage" Category

Moderna: Springfield's 860 doses OK to use

Moderna: Springfield’s 860 doses OK to use Covid-19 vaccines reported as 'discarded' were not

  By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Vaccine manufacturer Moderna and federal officials have determined that the 860 doses of Covid-19 vaccine that were thought to be affected by a temperature change during storage are not spoiled. Although it has been widely reported that those doses were discarded, they continue […]

Springfield Hospital's Friday Covid vaccine clinic to be held as scheduled

Springfield Hospital’s Friday Covid vaccine clinic to be held as scheduled

By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Springfield Hospital’s Covid-19 vaccination clinic for “Priority Group 1A,” made up of health care workers and front line staff, set for Friday, Jan. 29, will take place as scheduled, spokeswoman Anna Smith said on Thursday. “We have a new supply of vaccine arriving for this clinic,” Smith said […]

Health Dept.: Review of Springfield Hospital situation continues

Health Dept.: Review of Springfield Hospital situation continues Doses have not been thrown away

©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Vermont Health Department contacted the Chester Telegraph this afternoon with this statement concerning the 860 doses of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine that may have been affected by a slight temperature change in its refrigerators. The vaccines have not been thrown away, as has been reported by many news organizations.  To read […]

Temperature questions shut down vaccine clinic at Springfield Hospital

Temperature questions shut down vaccine clinic at Springfield Hospital Differing monitor readings throw doubt on efficacy of 860 doses

By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Kathleen Bell was standing “right at the door” of Springfield Hospital at 9 a.m. Wednesday waiting to enter to get her second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, when a hospital worker came out to announce that they clinic was now closed and those scheduled would be contacted for […]

Chester board OKs annual warning, drops cannabis discussion

Chester board OKs annual warning, drops cannabis discussion Town budget, paving bonds, dump truck and police cruiser among items to be voted

By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board at a special meeting on Monday afternoon approved the town’s warning for the March 2 Town Meeting Australian ballot, but decided to postpone putting an article on cannabis sales in front of the voters until board members could discuss it further in a […]

Covid cases vs. 'case rates': How population plays into local numbers

Covid cases vs. ‘case rates’: How population plays into local numbers

By Cherise Madigan ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Cases of Covid-19 are continuing to rise in area towns, with Springfield up by 22 to a total of 108 and Manchester up by 27 to 81 in the span of just one week. By comparison, Vermont statewide has experienced has seen its case count rise by 898 […]

Vaccine signups begin today for ages 75 & up

Vaccine signups begin today for ages 75 & up

UPDATE: According to the Vermont Health Department, as of 11:30 a.m. on Monday, 13,290 people 75 and older have scheduled appointments. Out of the approximately 49,000 of those eligible, that’s a little over 27 percent. By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Registration for an appointment to receive the first dose of a coronavirus […]

Weekly Covid Update: Vaccinations to begin for Vermonters 75 and up

Weekly Covid Update: Vaccinations to begin for Vermonters 75 and up Signups begin Monday, shots on Wednesday, with Phase 2

©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC On the morning of Monday, Jan. 25, Phase 2 of the Vermont vaccination plan will begin, allowing Vermonters age 75 and older to begin registering for inoculations. The first vaccines for this group will start on Wednesday. The website and phone number for vaccination registration will be released on Monday morning. […]

GMUSD budget up less than 1% despite special ed hike

GMUSD budget up less than 1% despite special ed hike

By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The directors of the Green Mountain Unified School District approved a $14.2 million budget last Thursday. It represents an increase of less than 1 percent over last year’s spending plan, despite a recent 14 percent increase by the Two Rivers Supervisory Union, which charges its spending back […]

Vermont vaccine rollout shifts to age based eligibility

Vermont vaccine rollout shifts to age based eligibility

By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC With the supply of the vaccine to combat Covid-19 in Vermont smaller and less reliable than anticipated, the administration of Gov. Phil Scott is changing its strategy for rolling it out. In what has been called Phase 1A, workers in health care, residents in long-term care facilities […]

Chester Rotary donates 2,000 masks to educators, first responders

Chester Rotary donates 2,000 masks to educators, first responders

The Chester Rotary on Tuesday donated 2,000 face masks, courtesy of Rotary International, to educators at Green Mountain Unified School District and to Chester’s first responders, including Emergency Medical Technicians, firefighters and the Chester Police, during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Chester Rotary President Ian Montgomery, Rotary International financed the masks in its Million Mask […]

Covid Weekly Update: State of emergency, vaccine rollout continue

Covid Weekly Update: State of emergency, vaccine rollout continue Not all activities seen as drivers of Covid numbers

©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Gov. Phil Scott extended the state of emergency throughout Vermont through mid-February as new weekly Covid-19 totals again topped 1,000 for the second week in a row. The new weekly total of 1,115 was down slightly from the record-setting high of 1,207 last week, for a total of 9,734. Seven Vermonters […]

TRSU board approves 14% budget increase

TRSU board approves 14% budget increase

By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Thursday night, the board of the Two Rivers Supervisory Union unanimously approved a budget of $6.548 million, which taxpayers in the SU’s two districts will see as assessments in the district budgets for the 2021/22 school year. The spending plan included an overall increase of $807,764 […]

Weekly Covid Update: Cases balloon as state ranks No. 2 in vaccine rollout

Weekly Covid Update: Cases balloon as state ranks No. 2 in vaccine rollout

©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The beginning of the new year is already breaking records, with the first days of 2021 seeing an astounding 1,207 new cases of Covid-19 for a total of 8,619 cases, and 20 more deaths, totaling 156, since the last 2020 report on Thursday, Dec. 31. The seven-day positivity rate has also […]

Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union seeks candidates for T&G, Winhall, Mettawee districts

Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union seeks candidates for T&G, Winhall, Mettawee districts

Running for your local school board is another endeavor altered by the pandemic. For 2021 elections, signed petitions are no longer required to qualify to run for any of the 19 open positions in the three school districts of the Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union: Mettawee, Winhall and the Taconic & Green Regional. “Finding candidates to run […]

Local Covid-19 numbers grow in post-holiday spikes

Local Covid-19 numbers grow in post-holiday spikes

By Cherise Madigan © 2021 Telegraph Publishing, LLC The Vermont Department of Health announced 165 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, with 38 hospitalized, eight of whom are in intensive care. Now more than 500 new cases have been reported since Thursday, Dec. 31. Since Sunday, Vermont’s seven-day average positivity rate has risen from 2.3 […]

Derry board nixes new maintenance position, seeks volunteers

Derry board nixes new maintenance position, seeks volunteers

By Cherise Madigan © 2021 Telegraph Publishing, LLC The suggestion of a new Highway, Building and Grounds Maintenance employee drew a crowd to Londonderry’s virtual Select Board meeting on Monday night after a number of residents expressed opposition to the position’s cost in a year that has been financially difficult for many.  The $20-per-hour full-time […]

Weekly Covid Update: Federal vaccine reductions vex Scott administration

Weekly Covid Update: Federal vaccine reductions vex Scott administration

©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC A spike in the daily Covid-19 new case totals, two new deaths, and lower than expected vaccine allotments coming from the federal government capped off 2020’s final Covid-19 press conference on Thursday, Dec. 31, which also marked the 100th press conference given by Gov. Phil Scott and his state health team […]

Boards struggle with holding annual meetings during pandemic

Boards struggle with holding annual meetings during pandemic Legislation may give municipalities more options

By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Town Meeting day is more than two months away, but municipalities — including school districts — throughout Vermont are working out how that annual ritual of direct democracy will be handled during a global pandemic in which personal contact can be hazardous. When Gov. Phil Scott announced […]

GMUSD Special Meeting agenda for Dec. 28

GMUSD Special Meeting agenda for Dec. 28

The Green Mountain Unified School District board will hold a special meeting via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Monday Dec. 28, 2020. To attend using Zoom click here. Below is its agenda. CALL TO ORDER: a. Roll Call APPROVAL OF AGENDA: BOARD COMMENTS PUBLIC COMMENTS NEW BUSINESS  a. Process for annual meeting NEXT MEETING DATE: […]