Childhood Vaccine Coverage Increases in Connecticut Despite National Decline

By Hugh McQuaid

October 14 @ 5:00 am

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Connecticut stood out as an exception in new statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, which found vaccination rates declining around the country as an increasing number of parents decline to inoculate their children against preventable illnesses.

The CDC numbers, released last week, found that vaccination coverage among American kindergartners had declined for all reported vaccines during the 2023-2024 school year when compared to the 2022-2023 school year.

For instance, MMR coverage among kindergarteners dropped from 93.1% in 22-23 to 92.7% in 23-24. Both numbers are well below the 95% coverage threshold, which makes outbreaks of disease unlikely.

In a statement to USA Today, Dr. Georgina Peacock, director of the CDC’s Immunization Services Division, said the declining vaccination rates posed serious and potentially fatal risks to children and those around them.

“As we are noting these declines in childhood vaccination, we are also seeing more communities experience outbreaks of measles and whooping cough across the U.S.,” she said. “Vaccination is the best way to prevent these outbreaks and their devastating impact on children.”

The decline represents a continuation of a trend that has seen vaccination coverage rates sliding in the years since the pandemic. National MMR coverage sat at 95.2% during the 2019-202 academic year.

The decrease is largely driven by an ongoing spike in the number of parents claiming non-medical exemptions to laws requiring school children to be inoculated against several preventable illnesses before attending kindergarten.

Roughly 1.9% of kindergarteners received non-medical exemptions during the 2020-2021 school year and that number has risen each subsequent year, according to the CDC. The most recent statistics found that around 3.1% of students received a non-medical exemption, nationwide.

Connecticut’s statistics paint a different story. The state’s MMR vaccination coverage increased 97.3% to 97.7% from 2022-23 to 2023-24, according to the CDC. Meanwhile, non-medical exemptions dropped from 0.5% in 2022-23 to 0.1% in 2023-24.

This rise in protection for school children coincides with the implementation of a policy decision made in 2021, when the legislature voted to phase out the use of non-medical exemptions to school vaccine requirements in an effort to preserve immunity coverage.

Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, said the CDC statistics demonstrated the efficacy of responsible public health policies.

“While it’s disappointing to see non-medical exemptions continue to diminish childhood immunity around the country, I’m heartened to see Connecticut children benefiting from the protection that vaccine coverage provides,” said Anwar, a physician who co-chairs the legislature’s Public Health Committee. “Students across the state are now less likely to suffer from preventable and unnecessary illnesses thanks to this common-sense policy.”

Exploring the CT Grown Trail for Autumn Agricultural Tourism

By Joe O’Leary

October 12 @ 5:00 am

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As temperatures fall, leaves turn colors and autumn fully arrives in Connecticut, CT Grown, a division of the state Department of Agriculture, is working to support state farms and wineries.

The organization, which supports and promotes agriculture and aquaculture, recently created the CT Grown Trail, meant to highlight some of Connecticut’s many farms, orchards, vineyards, wineries and more.

The CT Grown Trail, available at www.ctgrown.org, offers three separate trails for visitors to utilize depending on their location, with different paths focused on the western, central and eastern parts of the state.

Specifically designed to support day trips that can take people around the state and home – or back to their home state or hotel – in one day, the trail is designed to encourage exploration to find businesses with unique and well-known offerings.

On the Central trail, for instance, someone could start with breakfast at restaurants recommended Granby, New Haven or Middletown, before heading to Glastonbury for pick-your-own produce and lunch, or farm visits in Orange, Bethany or Durham before taking a trip to wineries in Simsbury, Wallingford or Clinton. Such a trip, depending on someone’s location, could end with dinner in Simsbury, Branford or Chester.

Similar trails for the East recommend restaurants in Mansfield or Mystic, farms in Canterbury and Preston, a Stonington oyster farm and dinner in Putnam, while the western trail can start with breakfast in Goshen or Westport, lunch in Bantam or Ridgefield, and dinner in New Preston, Stratford or Norwalk.

With autumn in full swing, CT Grown’s trails are perfect for fall tourism, with orchards represented – not only for apple picking, but apple cider and apple cider donuts – and pumpkin patches and farm stands receiving new attention.

The trails also draw attention to Connecticut’s farm wineries, which offer special fall events and pairings, and the farmyards that host corn mazes, which are perfect for fall family fun.

These trails are just one way to plan a trip around the state; CT Grown’s website also features sections dedicated to agritourism, with specific focuses on fruit, vegetables and animal products, a feature of Connecticut Wine Country’s best offerings, and a list of events being held around the state.

Shore Line East Adds New Peak-Time Trains

By Michelle Rapaport

October 11 @ 12:30 pm

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State officials celebrated Shore Line East’s Monday addition of four new peak-time trains running between New Haven and New London, as well as the renewed operation of direct service between Stamford and New London.

During a press conference in Guilford, state Sen. Christine Cohen, chair of the Transportation Committee, welcomed the Department of Transportation’s announcement of the new trains, which were funded through $5 million she helped secure earlier this year.

“Securing this funding was one of the accomplishments I was most proud of this legislative session, and I am thrilled that, by bringing constituent concerns to Hartford, we have been able to leverage even more from the $5 million than originally anticipated,” Cohen said. “I worked directly with residents across the district to determine their specific needs and to identify where the current Shore Line East schedule was falling short.”

Passengers are encouraged to visit ShoreLineEast.com for the latest service information. Riders can sign up for alerts sent directly to their phone or email at shorelineeast.com/service-alerts.

Fully funding Shore Line East back to pre-pandemic levels is expected to carry a $35 million price tag. This $5 million portion of restoration will bring additional peak service and a through train to the line, but more work and increased ridership is necessary to realize 2019-era train schedules, Cohen said.

The additional services include:

Weekday Westbound Service
· New CTrail 1633 departing New London Station at 5:46 a.m. and arriving at Stamford Station at 7:53 a.m.
· New CTrail 1695 departing New London Station at 9:05 p.m. and arriving at New Haven Union Station at 10:11 p.m.

Weekday Eastbound Service
· New CTrail 1600 departing New Haven Union Station at 4:25 a.m. and arriving at New London Station at 5:29 a.m.
· Existing CTrail 1638 will depart Stamford Station at 4:13 p.m. and arrive at New London Station at 6:25 p.m.
· New CTrail 1640 departing New Haven Union Station at 7:45 p.m. and arriving at New London Station at 8:50 p.m.

Job Market Surges as Unemployment Declines

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest information regarding the national job market reported significant improvement, as September 2024 saw an increase in jobs both from the previous month and expectations in the labor market.

Nationally, the United States added 254,000 jobs in September, with the unemployment rate dropping by a tenth of a point to 4.1%. Employment trended up in a number of industries, with the service industry seeing strong growth and health care, government, social assistance and construction all seeing significant leaps.

Average hourly earnings for employees nationwide increased 0.4% in the month, rising by 13 cents. Meanwhile, hourly earnings grew by 4% over the last year.

The report also included upward revisions to the two previous months, which were initially reported to have middling levels of growth that sent concerns through the stock market. The bureau’s September statistics retroactively increased those numbers by tens of thousands.

July’s report went from 89,000 jobs added in the month to 144,000 – an increase of 55,000 – while August went up from 142,000 to 159,000, an increase of 17,000. That’s 72,000 more jobs than expected for those periods.

These figures were widely praised by publications following the job market, with the Wall Street Journal saying the figures were “blowing past expectations” and indicating they may lead to a “soft landing” economically, meaning the process of an economy shifting from rapid growth to slow or stable growth without triggering a recession, key to avoid economic turmoil.

CNN reported initial predictions for September forecasted job growth of just 140,000, meaning the month’s true figures came in more than 100,000 ahead of expectations. Those numbers, combined with declining unemployment rates, suggest a positive economic outlook.

These figures also indicate the country’s less likely to see a recession any time soon, as CNN reported Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the economy appears solid and suggestions of turmoil may have been overblown. On a national scale, the Federal Reserve’s next move regarding interest rates will be watched with strong interest, and some predictions indicate the next rate cut may be less aggressive.

Posted By Joe O’Leary

Five Years After Connecticut Raised the Age to Buy Tobacco, Fewer Youths Smoking

October 1 marked the five-year anniversary of Connecticut’s law increasing the age of access to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21, a shift intended to fight youth smoking and vaping rates. In that time, youth smoking rates have plummeted, suggesting that the increase has kept tobacco products out of schools and preserved young lungs.

Raising the age of access was an important focus from lawmakers in the late 2010s due to the sharp rise in use of e-cigarettes and vapes among high schoolers. From 2015 to 2017, the rates of high schoolers using vapes doubled, and decades of anti-smoking efforts and education were at risk of being countered by eased access to products delivering nicotine to users almost immediately. Lawmakers focused on the age of access among other anti-smoking efforts as a way to reduce tobacco access in schools, as 18-20 year-olds still in school or involved in activities after graduation could provide underage students with tobacco products.

Since the state increased the age of tobacco – a trend that went national, with federal lawmakers raising the age of access in all 50 states months later – youth vaping rates have fallen significantly. According to the state’s Youth Risk Behavior and Youth Tobacco Surveys, high school students smoking daily dropped more than 18% from 2019 to 2023, with daily use of vapes and e-cigarettes dropping 40% in that time. Overall, Connecticut high schoolers using tobacco regularly (at least once a month) fell from 27.6% in 2019 to 12.7% in 2023.

State Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, recently addressed a group of students at East Hartford’s Sunset Ridge Middle School with East Hartford leaders including Rep. Henry Genga, Mayor Connor Martin and Superintendent Thomas Anderson.

“As a lung doctor, I have worked on a number of patients who experienced lung damage from smoking at a young age,” Anwar said. “For smoking, the younger you are, the higher your chances of lifelong addiction which can harm your health. Making tobacco harder for youths to access is an important step forward for our state and nation in improving public health and preventing future health consequences for so many.”

Preventing youth smoking is a primary goal in anti-smoking efforts as smokers are most likely to be lifelong tobacco users if they pick up the habit before turning 21. The organization 21 for a Reason reported that 85% of adults who smoke daily did so as teenagers or earlier, while 80% of regular smokers pick up the habit before they turn 21. Nicotine can impact developing brains, lowering impulse control and reducing attention spans, which can increase the long-term odds of addiction.

While progress is strong in reducing youth smoking, tobacco products are still being used by more than one in every ten students statewide, Meanwhile, tobacco smoke is a leading cause of preventable death and disability in the United States. Smoking kills just under 5,000 residents each year

Posted By Joe O’Leary

Connecticut Doubles Down on Contributions to Nationwide Hurricane Helene Response

The Connecticut National Guard and other state rescue teams are helping to supplement a massive, nationwide response to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, Gov. Ned Lamont’s office announced last week.

The roughly week-long deployment of Connecticut teams comes in addition to around 1,500 active duty troops and thousands of federal employees, which President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have mobilized alongside more than $137 million in federal assistance as part of a rapid response designed to aid storm-damaged communities across the Southeast.

In a statement Sunday, the president described a Biden-Harris Administration response effort that began before Helene made landfall.

“With a total of 1,500 troops now supplementing a robust on-the-ground effort – including more than 6,100 National Guardsmen and more than 7,000 Federal personnel – my Administration is sparing no resource to support families as they begin their road to rebuilding,” Biden said.

Connecticut’s contributions to the recovery efforts include helicopters and air crews from the state National Guard’s Bravo Company, 2-104th Aviation, 1-169th Aviation Regiment. These teams have been deployed to Salisbury, North Carolina to assist with moving supplies to communities in the western part of the state that are stranded after the storm.

“Connecticut is prepared to lead by example and deliver assistance to our neighbors during times of emergency,” Lamont said in a press release. “The soldiers from the Connecticut National Guard have always been ready to respond to any crisis here in our state whenever the need arises.”

This deployment comes in addition to an earlier, Sept. 27, deployment of a Connecticut-based flight crew and CH-47 Chinook helicopter as well as an eight-member urban search and rescue team from the state’s Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

The unit is deploying under the authorization of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a mutual aid system among states and territories for lifesaving resources during natural and man-made disasters.

In a Sunday press release, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said search and rescue teams had assisted more than 6,500 people since the storm hit.

“The people of Western North Carolina are strong, and they deserve every bit of help we can get them,” Cooper said. “I’m so grateful for everyone stepping up to help as we dig out from this unprecedented storm.”

Posted By Michelle Rappaport

All-Terrain Wheelchairs Coming to Connecticut Parks

Connecticut is getting ready for a “soft launch” of its new all-terrain wheelchairs in state parks on October 22, thanks to a bipartisan bill which passed in 2023 and set aside $250,000 in the state budget to buy 10 or more all-terrain wheelchairs for use by visitors with disabilities

The all-terrain wheelchairs will be offered this year at Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill, Topsmead State Forest in Litchfield, Gillette Castle State Park in Lyme, Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme, and Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford.

All-terrain wheelchairs are battery-powered with treads that can travel over trails, sand, gravel, and similar rugged terrain.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said it was committed to ensuring all park visitors have access to the many outdoor recreational opportunities available in Connecticut’s state parks and forests, many of which already feature handicapped-accessible parking, picnic tables, buildings, fishing platforms, campgrounds, beaches, and bathhouse facilities.

Georgia, Colorado, Michigan, South Dakota and Minnesota all offer all-terrain wheelchairs in some of their state parks.

The 2023 all-terrain bill was co-sponsored by seven state legislators, including Democratic state Senators Cathy Osten, Jan Hochadel, Saud Anwar and Joan Hartley.

“I’ve always believed that the ability of people who are challenged to access our state parks and state forests is, first and foremost, a simple right of access issue at its core,” Osten, D-Sprague, said. “These all-terrain wheelchairs will be a life-changing improvement for people who enjoy getting out into nature as much as the next person, but who have historically been limited in accessing some of our trails. This is a significant and worthwhile investment in Connecticut residents.”

Hochadel, D-Meriden, said the new law would allow more Connecticut residents to experience the state’s scenic parks.

“Everyone deserves access to Connecticut’s beautiful public parks, and this new program puts those opportunities within reach for many residents who were previously unable to enjoy them,” Sen. Jan Hochadel, D-Meriden, said. “I’m proud to have co-sponsored this policy that will open up our trails to people with disabilities and other limitations, ensuring that everyone can experience the natural beauty our state has to offer.”

Posted By Lawrence Cook