Eleni Kavros DeGraw

I find myself grateful this week that Henri ended up not impacting us tremendously and that yet another heatwave this week will be brief. Stay hydrated and stay cool as best you can and stay tuned to town emails and my social media on cooling stations as they become available.

Monday evening, I held an online back-to-school event with local pediatrician, Dr. Meredith Barrows and psychologist, Dr. Gary Zachariah. Dr. Chris Carroll, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Connecticut/Pediatric Intensivist at CCMC was also supposed to join us but due to an increased caseload that evening at CCMC's ICU, he was unable to participate. We've included the link to the recording below and hope that for those of you with children returning to school next week, you find it helpful.

I'm sure you've noticed we're in the midst of some of scorching hot weather this week. I wanted to remind you to be mindful of our senior citizens during these times. I've included helpful information from the Avon Senior Center as a place to go for relief from the heat as well as the Avon Library, for all town residents looking to beat the heat. For information on Canton, stay tuned to the Town website and email for more information.

A "BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIAL" WITH LOCAL DOCTORS

Thank you to my guests, Dr. Meredith Barrows, Avon pediatrician, and Dr. Gary Zachariah, West Hartford Psychologist for their willingness to discuss all things related to getting back to school safely as we go through the Delta variant portion of the pandemic. As you know, the Governor's mask requirement is in place in schools through September 30th.  They are a mitigation strategy for the virus the same way that the vaccine is a mitigation strategy. I also found an article with related links to the research out of Duke University helpful as I make plans for my own children returning to school.

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION AUTHORIZES PFIZER VACCINE - LET'S DO THIS!

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the Pfizer BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine full approval to become the first vaccine to receive complete authorization following a comprehensive review by the agency, using the extensive data provided as well as conducting their own analyses.

The vaccine, recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will now be marketed as Comirnaty. It is FDA-approved for anyone 16 years of age and older for the prevention of COVID-19. The vaccine also continues to be available under emergency use authorization (EUA) for individuals 12 through 15 years of age and for the administration of a third dose in certain immunocompromised individuals.

This could be welcome news for any Connecticut residents, or anyone in other states, who may have been somewhat skeptical about the vaccine, that despite its success rate, was being administered under the FDA's EUA.

At last count, more than 2.5 million – or 72 percent – of Connecticut residents have been vaccinated. While this is certainly better than other states, we can and must do better with Delta variant spreading.

To find out how to get a COVID-19 vaccine, please visit the state's vaccine portal here COVID-19 Vaccination Scheduling Options (ct.gov). If you need to find a vaccine provider near you, please visit CT Vaccine Portal Vaccine Finder.

YOUTH CABINET LAUNCH DATE SET

Here's a reminder that I'm launching my Youth Cabinet, which is a non-partisan initiative to provide high school students in Avon & Canton an opportunity to learn more about the policy making process at our State Legislature. Our first event will be held at Ben & Jerry's in the Canton Shops on Saturday, September 11th, 2021 at 3 p.m. All are welcome to attend!

Members of the cabinet will get to share their ideas about solving issues that impact them most. The cabinet will meet once a month with me and local community leaders. You can find the Youth Cabinet application by clicking on the image below:

AVON COOLING CENTERS OPEN

With extreme temperatures and humidity predicted over the next several days, the Town of Avon has designated the Avon Senior Center and Avon Free Public Library as Cooling Centers available for residents to seek relief from the heat beginning today.

The Avon Senior Center is located at 635 West Avon Road and staff can be reached at (860) 675-4355 with any questions.  Their Cooling Center will be available open today through Friday, August 27th, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Avon Free Public Library is located at 281 Country Club Road and staff can be reached at (860) 673-9712 with any questions and their Cooling Center will be available today and Thursday, August 26th, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Friday, August 27th, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, HARTFORD ATHLETIC TEAM UP FOR VETERANS AND DIVERSITY HIRING EXPO

The Connecticut Department of Labor and Hartford Athletic are teaming up to host the first annual Veterans and Diversity Hiring Expo at Dillon Stadium in Hartford on Tuesday, September 7, 2021 from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The event is free to attend and participants are encouraged to register online at HartfordAthletic.com/Expo.

According to a press release from the governor's office...

The hiring expo seeks to support those who are underemployed, seeking new career opportunities, or most importantly, directly impacted in their careers by COVID-19. Each registrant will also receive a free ticket to the Hartford Athletic Veterans and Military Appreciation Night match against Louisville City FC following the expo at 7:00 p.m.

For more details and to read the full release please click on the image below: