Maria Horn

I started my morning with my second COVID vaccine shot at Sharon Hospital, an event I have been very much looking forward to.  The group of us with appointments this morning (for either first or second shots) spanned a wide range of different approaches to vaccination.

Yesterday I ended my Earth Day with a quick hike up Lion’s Head in Salisbury (an offshoot of the Appalachian Trail and a family favorite) to take a little time to appreciate the incredible natural world we are blessed to share with each other and other wild creatures. 

Around 3:00 am this morning, after 16 hours of debate, the CT House voted (by a bipartisan 90-53) to eliminate the religious exemption from mandatory vaccinations for public and private schools, while grandfathering in any children currently enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade, and expanding the medical exemption

It’s been another busy week, between events in what I think of as “virtual Hartford” and those here in the district. 

Although the road ahead still aims out of the pandemic in CT, it did get a little bumpy this week with today’s announcement that the CDC was recommending a pause on administering the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine. 

As the weather warms up, I’m seeing more events get scheduled in the district, and I’m able to have more in-person meetings outdoors, which is refreshing, especially as I start to anticipate long days in Hartford in the coming weeks. Some of the upcoming local outdoor events are traditional spring clean ups in anticipation of Earth Day on April 22

The topic I hear about most frequently at the moment is vaccinations: specifically, finding and making appointments, which remains a frustrating, and increasingly complicated, process, despite the fact that vaccines are becoming more widely available.

Happy April!  This year we’re celebrating the start of “the cruelest month” with opening day for Major League Baseball, the UConn women’s Final Four game against Arizona tomorrow, and the expansion of eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine to the final group of adults, including all individuals between the ages of 16 and 44.  That is welcome news, but also calls for patience as I’m certain getting appointments will be challenging at first.