MONDAY’S COVID UPDATE FOR THE FRANKLIN COUNTY REGION
By Gregory J. Lamoureux
County Courier
Franklin County has 16 new cases being reported by the Vermont Health Department on Monday. The current case rate for the County continues to hover at 237 current cases. There was also one death reported in Franklin County within the past 14 days.
That brings the total cases in Franklin County to 1,489 since the beginning of the pandemic a year ago- the fourth highest county in the state by raw number.
As for per capita, there have been about 301 cases per 10,000 residents. Franklin County ranks as the third hardest-hit county in the state in the past year. Chittenden County comes in at 325 cases per 10,000, and Bennington County comes in at a staggering 440 cases per 10,000.
Franklin County has been home to 36 deaths in the year since the coronavirus began its grip on life in the Green Mountain State. That is second only to Chittenden County, which reportedly has 93 deaths associated with the virus in a year.
Statewide, the Vermont Health Department is reporting 85 new cases, which means that Franklin County is contributing to about 19% of the new cases reported on Monday. There are currently 29 patients hospitalized with the virus in the state- three are in the ICU.
Chittenden County has seen the highest percentage of its population having been tested at least once since the pandemic began. Almost three in every five people in that county have received a PCR test at some point.
As for Franklin County, that number is closer to two in five residents having been tested at least once in the past year. Essex County has the fewest tests per capita with only about one-third of residents having experienced the PCR test.
Franklin, Orleans, and Chittenden Counties continue to be the hottest spots for the virus throughout the state.
Vermont’s Vaccine rate is steadily increasing as more and more people find their way into appointments. One notable appointment came on Friday when Vermont’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Mark Levine, received his vaccine at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Jct.
Franklin County is lagging behind the remainder of the state in vaccinating its population with 22.4% of the population having received at least one dose, according to the Health Department data. That compares to a statewide rate of 26.1%, and a rate of more than 30% in Rutland County.
Essex County is the only county that has seen fewer vaccines by population with 19.7% of their population having been administered at least one dose.
Franklin County is reporting 84% of those over 75 having been administered the vaccine, a benchmark that is right in line for what health officials have said would be needed for population-wide immunity. It still falls short of neighboring Grand Isle County, which is showing a 100% vaccination rate for the same age group.
