An Open Letter to Governor Scott:
As elected leaders in our community we are reaching out to amplify our care and concern for the extraordinary burden that is being placed on our healthcare workers, schools, and families, especially those with children who will not be fully vaccinated for many weeks yet and those with children under five that cannot be vaccinated.
We were proud to be a national leader in our early response to COVID. Under your leadership, difficult choices were made in order to keep Vermonters safe. As importantly, your consistent, steadfast communication helped to create a largely unified community ethic that became a valuable tool in fighting an invisible pandemic.
We write today to implore you to use your authority and voice to do more in this current devastating wave of Delta. The reality in Vermont has been deteriorating for some time and the data in recent weeks is dramatic: record cases, record growth in cases, near-record hospitalizations, record cases in schools and countless Vermont students quarantined at home and missing days and weeks of school, although we lack clear data on just how many for how long. No policy maker is at fault for the delta variant or for this pandemic, but we play an important role in doing everything we can to prevent its spread and mitigate its effects. We look forward to working with you on the enormous challenge in the upcoming legislative session.
ADOPT
A statewide data-driven mask policy to decrease community transmission and reduce the impacts on schools, health systems, and businesses.
This would mean a statewide indoor mask policy as we get numbers under control; all Vermont counties presently are experiencing high community spread. If we expect children to be masked all day at school, surely it is not too much to ask of all Vermonters.
ALIGN
Maintain school mitigation measures until kids can be vaccinated--use data-driven endpoints.
PROVIDE
Adequate staffing and support to K-12 schools to conduct testing, contact tracing and other mitigation strategies.
We know human resources are stretched in every facet of our economy right now but the health and well being of our children should be the utmost priority. We have monumental work in front of us to help kids who have lost days and weeks of school and are facing constant stress. We cannot begin to assess and address these needs until we can safely keep kids in schools. Currently, we are failing our schools and kids.
Lastly, Please consider your communication and its impact on Vermonters carefully. The message of "personal responsibility" to get through this is hurtful to so many Vermonters, who do not know day to day if their kids can go to school, if they can go to work or if they will avoid illness, even if they are vaccinated. Our communities are fearful and this kind of message only further divides us, leaving families policing and judging each other because they are desperate to keep their kids in schools and stay healthy.
Rep. Sarita Austin
Rep. Alyssa Black
Rep. Tiffany Bluemle
Rep. Erin Brady
Rep. Jana Brown
Rep. Mollie Burke
Rep. Elizabeth Burrows
Rep. Hal Colston
Rep. Mari Cordes
Rep. Karen Dolan
Rep. Kate Donnally
Rep. Caleb Elder
Rep. Leslie Goldman
Rep. Lori Houghton
Rep. Mary Howard
Rep. Jim Masland
Rep. Curt McCormack
Rep. Dick McCormack
Rep. Jim McCullough
Rep. Michael Mrowicki
Rep. Emma Mulvaney-Stanak
Rep. Logan Nicoll
Rep. Carol Ode
Rep. Avram Patt
Rep. Ann Pugh
Rep. Barbara Rachelson
Rep. Larry Satcowitz
Rep. Selene Colburn
Rep. Katherine Sims
Rep. Taylor Small
Rep. Trevor Squirrell
Rep. Gabrielle Stebbins
Rep. Heather Surprenant
Rep. George Till
Rep. Chip Troiano
Rep. Tanya Vyhovsky
Rep. Tommy Walz
Rep. Becca White
Rep. Dane Whitman
Rep. David Yacovone
Rep. Michael Yantachka
Sen. Ruth Hardy
Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale
Sen. Anthony Pollina
Image: Burlington Free Press (2021)
