Editorial: A win-win for Vermont

That Gov. Scott set a goal of dropping all COVID-19 restrictions once the state hits 80% of Vermonters vaccinated is a worthy strategy for getting stragglers into and through the vaccination program. It’s also kind-of fun: there’s a reward for helping the state’s common good.Moreover, the governor says he’s not stopping the push once the state hits 80%; getting as many Vermonters vaccinated as possible is the ideal goal he says, and who can disagree? The more thoroughly Vermonters are vaccinated, the less l … (read more)

My colleagues and I at your local Health Department office wish to express our gratitude to the members of the American Legion Post 27 in Middlebury for their help in the effort to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Since January, the Middlebury American Legion … (read more)

MILTON — Becca Brynga of Milton is pro-vaccine.Brynga received her second Pfizer dose about a month ago, and her two kids — a 13-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son — have received every vaccine available to them.But the relative newness of the COVID-19 … (read more)

When it comes to parents being unsure of whether they should give their children the vaccine to prevent contracting COVID-19, we get it. Parents are naturally protective; we are momma or papa bears protecting our cubs. It’s an instinct that lasts long int … (read more)

MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury College will require that will require all students, faculty and staff living, learning, or working on campus in the fall to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The college will make exceptions for people who have an approved med … (read more)

MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival (MNFF) will return to an in-person, five-day experience in Addison County’s shire town this August, news that comes as a blessing for movie enthusiasts and the many local lodgers, restaurateurs and store … (read more)

ADDISON COUNTY — The Bixby Memorial Free Library will reopen with limited capacity starting next Tuesday, May 18. The move comes as Middlebury’s Ilsley Public Library has just opened its stacks for limited browsing and Lawrence Memorial Library plans its … (read more)

MIDDLEBURY — The Vermont Department of Health (VDH), Walgreens, and Middlebury College are partnering to offer a COVID-19 vaccination clinic open to all Vermont residents age 18 and older on Tuesday, May 4. The VDH will administer the Johnson & Johnson va … (read more)

MIDDLEBURY — Most people see the COVID-19 vaccine as a ticket to freedom, travel and reconnecting with friends and loved ones after 14 months of pandemic-forced seclusion. Consequently, the vaccine tends to be its own best advertisement. For the most part … (read more)

The number of Vermont COVID cases each day has fallen 61% since April 1, the steepest drop in daily numbers in a year, officials said at a press conference Tuesday. The state reported 504 cases this week, down from 797 last week. Cases are dropping in eve … (read more)

Three sociology students at Middlebury College are trying to understand how the return of out-of-towners to campus during the COVID-19 pandemic has affected how students and townspeople perceive each other, and how that has affect each others’ habits. The … (read more)

MIDDLEBURY — Following the success of their vaccine clinics in Rutland and Bennington, the Rutland Area branch of the NAACP is partnering with the Vermont Department of Health and Middlebury College to offer a clinic for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and Peop … (read more)

BRISTOL — The five towns of northeast Addison County — Bristol, Lincoln, Monkton, New Haven and Starksboro — as well as the Mount Abraham Unified School District are in line for roughly $7.5 million in combined COVID-19 relief funding. More than $6 millio … (read more)

PANTON — Panton Selectboard chair Howard Hall is looking forward to a “Christmas bonus” that his rural, creekside town on the western edge of Addison County expects to receive in June. But that gift — as much as $200,000 from the federal government’s Amer … (read more)

The Addison Central School District’s announcement that it will return students in grades 7-12 to full capacity, in-person instruction with 3-foot physical distancing instead of the current 6-foot rule, flies in the face of CDC guidance on school safety a … (read more)