Anyone who thinks Newtown’s positive COVID-19 count is proportionately lagging behind the explosion of new daily cases across the state is mistaken.

Despite countless prevention reminders and the initiation of vaccines locally among a growing number of emergency responders, front line workers, and other qualified recipients, local cases accelerated in the past week, blowing through the 1,000 benchmark and taking at least three more residents’ lives.

As of January 13, the Newtown Health District confirmed it has logged 1,131 positive virus cases; the local death count has increased from 52 to at least 55.

Since there may be slight variations between local and state data, these numbers may differ by one or two on any given day, Health District Director Donna Culbert has explained. If there is any glimmer of light at the end of the long, dark tunnel the community, state, and nation have been traveling through since last winter, it is the promise of the growing availability and distribution of the vaccines that are being developed.

Earlier this week, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal issued a Code RED telephone message as Newtown opened up a portal on its municipal website where qualified individuals over age 75 or others in the “1B” group classification can sign up for a vaccine appointment. As The Newtown Bee’s print edition went to press January 14, Culbert had no further reportable details on when the first public vaccine clinic would be happening.

She has committed to utilizing the local newspaper and media source as a primary communication avenue to share that information and all related COVID-19 developments with the public. All such information is posted immediately to newtownbee.com, and on the newspaper’s Facebook and Twitter sites.

According to the municipal portal, accessible through newtown-ct.gov, it may be several weeks before significant supplies of the vaccine begin rolling out to municipalities for distribution. Newtown will follow the state’s staged protocol for identifying and setting up vaccine opportunities for qualified Phase 1B candidates.

CLICK HERE to go directly to the registration site.

Once residents register, they may be notified of other opportunities to get the vaccine, as clinics are being staged elsewhere in the region.

On January 13, the total of COVID-19 cases reported among Connecticut residents was 220,576, including 207,740 laboratory-confirmed and 12,836 probable cases. At that time, 1,148 patients were hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, and 6,536 COVID-19-associated deaths had been logged.

Fairfield County continues to lead the state in cases, with more than 65,000 reported. To date, the state has administered nearly five million COVID-19 tests.

State Vaccine Update

Governor Ned Lamont released extensive details about Phase 1B vax distribution January 14. To access that information, CLICK HERE

The following data was issued by Lamont on January 11 representing the total number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered in Connecticut:

*First doses administered: 133,190.

*Second doses administered: 7,865.

*Total doses administered: 141,055.

All of the doses under Phase 1A of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination program are being administered to people in the health care workforce, and residents and staff of long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Every nursing home in the state has completed administering their first doses as of Friday of last week, according to the report.

Lamont and other state officials are also warning Connecticut residents that as the COVID-19 vaccine continues to become available to more people, they should be aware of potential scams related to the vaccine.

Residents are advised to keep in mind:

*No one from a legitimate vaccine distribution site will ever ask for your Social Security number or bank information in order to receive a vaccine.

*Nobody will ever need to pay for early access to the vaccine.

*While patients may be asked to provide health insurance information when they receive the vaccine, health insurance is not required to receive it.

*Patients will never be asked to pay to put their name on a list to receive the vaccine.

*Internet scammers may post as legitimate businesses or organizations related to the distribution of the vaccine in an effort to steal personal or financial information.

*People should ensure that e-mails related to the vaccine are from legitimate sources before clicking links or opening attachments.

*When providing personal information, people should double check the URL to ensure its legitimacy.

*There are a limited number of federally approved vaccines and treatments.

*People should be cautious of anyone offering a “miracle cure,” treatment, or medication that claims to prevent the virus and is not one of the federally approved vaccines.

For the most up-to-date information about the vaccine in Connecticut, visit ct.gov/covidvaccine. For general information about the vaccine, visit cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19.

The 2-1-1 information hotline is also available 24/7 to answer questions.

Other vaccine-related news was forthcoming from Eversource on January 13. In order to help commercial customers save money as COVID-19 vaccines continue to be distributed and stored at locations and facilities across the state, Eversource is expanding the number of cold storage units that qualify for energy efficiency incentives.

The energy company is now providing incentives for all Energy Star-certified cold storage products to commercial customers who are rapidly expanding their cold storage capacity to distribute the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which must be kept at sub-zero temperatures.

Eversource’s new incentives will make it more affordable for customers to purchase energy-efficient models. The incentive is $1,500 per cold storage unit.

A full list of Energy Star-certified cold storage can be found at energystar.gov. Eversource customers interested in receiving incentives for cold storage can contact coldstorage@eversource.com.

It was also reported last Monday that the state Department of Public Health has issued guidance to the state’s universities and colleges regarding the upcoming spring semester. The guidance includes a recommendation that testing and quarantining of all residential students be done prior to fully opening campuses. The department is also advising universities and colleges to implement weekly testing of all residential and off-campus students who attend class in person through the end of February 2021.