Get Covered CT & Virtual Town Hall

Fairfield
December 11, 2020
Earlier today I had the opportunity to join a Zoom with Dr. Reginald Eadie, CEO of Trinity Health of New England, to learn more about Operation Warp Speed and the vaccination approval process. As one of the leading voices in the state, Dr. Eadie has an intimate knowledge of both the approval and distribution processes. The more information we have, the more confident we can feel that there is a safe and effective vaccine on the way and be prepared to take the vaccine when our turn comes up. There are no vaccine mandates being contemplated at this point.

I’d like to share some of the points he shared with the group and invite you to call me if you have questions about this or want to talk further:
  • Operation Warp Speed’s goal was to deliver 300 million doses of safe and effective vaccines by January 1, 2021. Dr. Eadie believes this is on track to occur. The CDC is the lead distributor with help from the Department of Defense. This accelerated time-frame was a result of a concurrent approval process that is typically done in a series. Both the larger number of volunteers in Phase 3 trials as well as significant federal investment helped speed up the process.
  • The vaccination approval process goes through a series of groups and steps
    • The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) is an advisory group which recommends approval to the FDA. This is the group that voted yesterday 17-4-1 to recommend approval of the Pfizer vaccine.
    • The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) reviews the VRBPAC ruling.
    • The FDA approves or denies.
    • Upon FDA Approval, the CDC ACIP provides guidance regarding distribution – the who, when and where.
  • The 4 members of the FDA advisory group who voted no expressed concerns about the fact that only ages 12 and over were studied, with only 153 people between the ages of 16-17. No pregnant women were included in the trials.
  • Side effects were generally mild or moderate, lasting only one day. Nobody in the study developed severe symptoms or died.
  • Pfizer study participant demographics include:
    • 81.9% white, 9% Black, 26.2% Latinx
    • 21.4% were over age 65, with the median age 51
    • 35% were obese
  • Herd Immunity is the goal. In order to attain this, Dr. Eadie estimates that 75-80% of the population must have either been exposed to the virus or vaccinated.
Get Covered CT

Access Health CT has joined a new initiative called Get Covered 2021 - a coalition of states and national organizations that have come together to promote the 2021 open enrollment period in healthcare coverage. It is critical to have health insurance even without a global pandemic.

Connecticut residents can enroll or renew their health insurance plan with the state’s marketplace until December 15, 2020, for coverage starting on January 1, 2021.

As always, I want to bring attention to wearing a mask and practicing CDC recommended safety measures to keep you and your families safe. You can also help spread the message across your social media platforms by using the hashtags #GetCoveredCT and #GetCovered2021.
Open Enrollment

Open Enrollment closes December 15, so Access Health is providing free assistance through the following:
  • In-Person Enrollment Locations: There is an enrollment location in Bridgeport open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Customers must make an appointment.
  • Virtual Enrollment Fairs: Customers can select the day that works best for them to speak to a customer service representative to enroll. Make an appointment here.
  • Live Chat: Visit the Access Health website, click on the "Live Chat" icon.
  • Phone: Call 1-855-805-4325, Monday – Friday from 8AM – 8PM; Saturday from 9AM – 3PM
  • Speak with a Certified Broker or Enrollment Specialist in your community. Find one here.

When enrolling, make sure you have the required information for all applying for coverage.

Open Enrollment closes December 15, 2020. Coverage begins January 1, 2021. Click here.
Virtual Town Hall

On Thursday, December 17, please join the Fairfield Delegation as we speak with Sten Vermund, Dean & Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Public Health at Yale School of Medicine and Dr. Christopher Winterbottom, Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Bridgeport Hospital (YNHH), about COVID-19, vaccination and mitigating the spread of the virus.

You can join the meeting via Zoom, or watch it live on my Facebook page.