Ways of Seeing: Are we still ‘Vermont Strong’?

Vermont was a media darling in the first year of the pandemic, keeping the virus in check better than any other state.

As of Feb. 1 Middlebury College is permitting spectators at is athletics events provided they are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and have received their booster shot, if eligible.

The number of COVID-19 cases will decline and people will head back out into the world. But some people will be unsure of what to expect and what lies ahead.

With about 350,000 at-home antigen tests on their way to Vermonters’ mailboxes, readers wrote to VTDigger to ask how the antigen tests would hold up if left for an afternoon or overnight in cold weather.

Hang in there, fellow Vermonters. We know we’re in the midst of a COVID surge sparked by the omicron variant that saw a record 116 patients in Vermont hospitals on Tuesday, topping the record of 115 patients set on Sunday.

I don’t know why the polio vaccines ended up being named after individuals, whereas others have not. Perhaps if the COVID vaccine were named after someone, it would seem more acceptable, rather than being produced by “Big Pharma.”

The UVM Medical Center Primary Care Team this week provided these answers to frequently asked questions on COVID-19, its symptoms and more. FAQs: COVID-19 Symptoms, At-home Tests and More I have symptoms that I think might be COVID. Do I need a test? If y … (read more)

As an emergency doctor and a longtime observer of how policy decisions play out on the front line, I can say that the despair rings absolutely true, and should ring alarm bells at the highest levels. 

Local institutions and businesses have begun to adjust their policies, schedules and programming to protect public health.

The biggest story of our lifetimes dragged on through all of 2021 as the story of COVID-19 followed an arc through the year.

I’m terrified to go to school. That’s really nothing new — I’m from a generation raised on school shooter drills, told that a strap on a door would protect us and that if all else failed, our books could be shields.

I join Dr. Jack Mayer and the others who spoke up at the board’s Dec. 28 meeting in urging the selectboard to reconsider a mask mandate for public spaces in its jurisdiction.

As schools for younger students prepare to reopen after the holiday break, local educators are hoping a new testing policy will help keep more unvaccinated kids in school when one of their classmates tests positive for the disease.

Superintendent Jeanne Collins cited two main factors that prompted the action: a cluster of positive cases that affected a number of grade levels and sent at least six classes into quarantine, and a shortage of staff.

In short, a successful 2022 will be in understanding how to manage COVID-19 and its inevitable variants, so that we can rediscover the energy, passion and enthusiasm of living a full and rich life.