Hi everyone, it’s Kevin. It’s Friday, December 4th.
For today’s COVID update, I wanted to let you know that we’re in continuous communication with the health departments of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Both Governor Raimondo and Governor Lamont held press conferences yesterday. In Rhode Island, Governor Raimondo characterized her state’s COVID case data as concerning, but not surprising given the predictions for a second surge during this time after Thanksgiving. The positive news is that Rhode Islanders appear to be complying with what she calls “the pause” in place through December 13 as demonstrated by traffic data in Rhode Island. That’s an indicator that people are staying home, working from home and generally following the rules. During the pause, Rhode Island gyms, bars, bowling alleys, movie theaters and casinos are closed and social gatherings are banned, among other restrictions.
Here in Connecticut, Governor Lamont reported yesterday afternoon that the state reached its highest positivity rate at 7.13%, a possible result of the holiday travel around the Thanksgiving holiday. Both governors set expectations on the imminent rollout of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The scheduling information is very fluid, literally changing by the hour, as Pfizer has just reported some supply chain issues that may set back their schedule. It’s anticipated the first doses of vaccine will be shipped out to states the week of December 14th. Healthcare workers, nursing home residents and workers, and medical first responders will be the first groups to get the vaccine—this group is known as Phase 1a.
In our discussions, the Connecticut Department of Public Health has projected they will receive enough vaccines to offer access to all Phase 1a individuals by the end of January. The state is currently defining who makes up the next population—referred to as Phase 1b. Right now it is defined as people whose jobs make it hard or impossible to work from home. From our perspective, a significant portion of our shipbuilders fall into this category. Connecticut would start offering vaccines to the Phase 1b population in the February time frame. The rollout will continue through the spring with vaccines available to all populations by June.
We’ll keep you posted on information about vaccine roll-out as it becomes available. But I think the fact that our workforce has been prioritized is important. It underscores the importance of our company staying operational in a pandemic and our critical role in keeping our nation safe.
That timeline means we can’t throw out our masks anytime soon—we need to remain vigilant to control the spread and stay healthy. Earlier today we sent out a note describing how we’ll conduct our annual turkey give-away in Connecticut next week. And if you haven’t had a chance, please take a closer look at the communication as there are multiple changes from previous years. From my perspective, I want to make sure we’re maintaining and sustaining what has been a long-standing tradition here at EB in the turkey give-away. It’s a longstanding tradition that people feel good about; so much has been disrupted and changed this year that at least we can maintain that tradition as close to normal as is reasonable. I hope it helps give you the feeling that we’ll get through this together. Our goal was to keep that tradition and keep everyone safe, and so there are some restrictions about how to pick up turkeys that you need to be aware of.
Due to COVID, there is greater need than usual in our surrounding communities for donations. If you’re considering donating your turkey, this would be a good year to do it. We’ve talked to several of the food banks in the area, and they are very hard hit as a result of the pandemic, so I would hope you would consider that. I am donating my turkey for just that reason.
Stay safe, stay healthy and we’ll talk again soon—Kevin.
