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COVID INFECTION AND VACCINATION RATES
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney) for 5 minutes.
Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, this morning, I wanted to share with the Chamber the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Health and Human Services regarding infection rates and vaccination rates in the country.
I am proud to say, the State of Connecticut, which the Speaker knows well, we ranked as the lowest infection rate in the country, 1.4 percent, 14 cases per 100,000.
Simultaneous with that report were the numbers regarding vaccination rates. For the population 18 and over, we are at an 80 percent vaccination rate, which, again, is the highest in the country.
It is blindingly obvious there is a causal connection between communities that come together to boost vaccination rates and the benefit and the result of reducing infection rates. The benefit, in terms of our hospital system in the State of Connecticut, again, we have 9 per 100,000 COVID patients, which ranks number three in the country, right behind Vermont and the State of Massachusetts, which are 7 per 100,000 and 8 per 100,000.
What does that mean? It means there is no pressure on your ICU units. There is allowance for normal elective surgeries and the processes of hospitals to continue, which is the endgame of what we all should be focused on like a laser, which is to get beyond this pandemic.
It didn't happen by itself.
Anecdotally, in my district, I was over at the Coast Guard Academy the other day: a 99 percent vaccination rate with the student body at the Coast Guard Academy. These are the future leaders of our coastal sea service, and they get it. They understand the benefits, that they can attend class and have a normal campus life.
Across the river, the submarine base in Groton, again, just shy of a 90 percent vaccination rate. That is 10,000 sailors and officers. These are people with families. These are folks who have pregnant spouses. But they get it. I mean, there is no way you can socially distance in a submarine. They are now the number one naval installation in America in terms of vaccination rates.
Again, it did not happen by itself. Governor Lamont, back in the spring of 2020, basically tuned out all the noise. He brought together experts from the Yale School of Public Health. He brought together experts from the Hartford HealthCare hospital system, which is the largest hospital system. They brought together the community health centers. They brought together community groups. They stayed focused in terms of getting testing, masking, and vaccinations out there to the public at large.
I would note, Madam Speaker, that when we passed the American Rescue Plan back in March, like every State, we were given an allocation to our public health system for communication and education. Again, it has been put to good use, obviously, as these numbers show this morning.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced the release of funding for community health centers, which have been the backbone in terms of reaching hard-to-get populations, to get the help that they need during this pandemic. In eastern Connecticut, the two community health systems--United Children and Family Services, and Generations--are getting close to $1 million for new equipment and new infrastructure to carry out their mission to make sure that we are going to beat this virus once and for all.
All the issues that we talk about here--and they are all so important--right now, we still cannot be distracted from the need to get on the other side of this pandemic. These numbers from my State today show that when you work together, when you just combat all the misinformation and bad stuff that is out there about vaccines and masking--we had a hearing in Hartford where we had people up there saying that the authorization from the FDA was only for the German vaccine, not the American Pfizer vaccine, which is ridiculous. That stuff is out there, but we have overcome that.
Again, the numbers speak for themselves in terms of that success.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure that we keep this priority number one, two, and three because that is how we recover our economy, and that is how we recover a normal life in this country. So, let's work together.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 171
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