When state officials unveiled the $33 million outreach program aimed at bringing COVID-19 vaccines to the state’s minority population, Gov. Ned Lamont likened the distinctive yellow vans to ice cream trucks that would soon be cruising through the neighborhoods.
But after a promising start, the program has hit a wall, and the number of doses administered from the vans has plunged by more than 50% in the past few weeks.
Last week, personnel from Griffin Health Care, which runs the program for the state, administered 1,032 doses, according to data provided by the state Department of Public Health. During the first week of April, 2,321 doses were dispensed through the vans.
New Haven activists: Remove guns from CT Mental Health Center
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The Connecticut Mental Health Center on Park Street in New Haven, photographed on May 5, 2021.Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less
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The Connecticut Mental Health Center on Park Street in New Haven, photographed on May 5, 2021.Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less
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NEW HAVEN Patients seeking treatment at the state-funded Connecticut Mental Health Center are met at the facility with measures that include a metal detector, security guards and police officers, according to the state.
The security measures, as well as a proposal to implement an X-ray machine to scan entrants’ belongings, have been met with pushback from community members concerned about their effects on patients - especially people of color - with a petition and two community leaders issuing a public statement demanding that the facility end use of armed police at the site. The
“We are behind almost every other state in the country. We are one of the last few states that requires an excuse in order to vote by absentee ballot. That’s unacceptable,” said Jennifer Pope of the Hamden Progressive Action Network.
The other measure deals with allowing early voting.
“We really have to take into consideration those essential workers, especially in the Black and brown community, that works two and three jobs and they are not able to take some time out of the day to go to a poll and stand in line to cast their vote,” said Pastor Kelcy G.L. Steele of the Varick Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church.
Capacity Limits Lifted for Places of Worship, Churches in Conn nbcconnecticut.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nbcconnecticut.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.