Category: News

Covid-19 news

As of Oct. 25 there were 3,295 active infections of Covid-19 statewide and 220 current hospitalizations. One additional death was announced on Oct. 25, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,544 since the start of the pandemic last year.

Last week the U.S. Food & Drug Administration greenlit the “mix-and-match” approach for Covid-19 booster shots in eligible individuals, or the receiving of shots from different manufacturers. According to an Oct. 25 report from WMUR, booster shots in New Hampshire are currently available for certain at-risk groups who previously received both doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, including people over the age of 65 and people over the age of 18 with underlying medical conditions. For those who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, boosters are recommended for all adults regardless of any risk factors. Boosters can be administered at least six months after the second Pfizer or Moderna dose, and at least two months after the Johnson & Johnson dose, according to the report. In New Hampshire, boosters are available through doctor’s offices, pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens and at weekly clinics in Manchester and Nashua. Visit vaccines.gov to book an appointment.

Several of New Hampshire’s largest health care systems, including Catholic Medical Center, St. Joseph Hospital, and SolutionHealth, the owner of Eliot Health System and Southern New Hampshire Health, issued a joint statement on Oct. 21 announcing mandatory Covid-19 vaccine policies for their organizations. “Each of our institutions has taken time to craft vaccine policies that achieve our shared goal of patient and staff safety while accommodating for medical and religious exemptions,” it read in part. “We are also confident that our policies will align with the forthcoming guidelines of the White House’s vaccine mandate for health care workers.”

Vaccine funding

On Oct. 25, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, along with Representatives Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas, held a virtual press conference with health care stakeholders to talk about the consequences of the New Hampshire Executive Council’s decision to reject $27 million in federal vaccine funding. According to a press release, the delegation discussed how this move has hurt prevention efforts across the state as Covid cases and hospitalizations continue to surge. “New Hampshire is one of four states with the highest numbers of infection rates,” Shaheen said in the press conference. “We’ve done our jobs. The federal delegation got the money that the State of New Hampshire said it needed. And when the federal government wasn’t forthcoming with what the state said it needed, we went back and we got those additional funds. Now it’s time for the Governor and the Republican Executive Councilors to do their jobs and to protect the health and safety of the people of this state.” Gov. Chris Sununu had encouraged the Executive Council to approve the federal funding and said in a statement after the vote that the council had shown “a reckless disregard for the lives we are losing while they turn away the tools our state needs to fight and win this battle against Covid.”

Meanwhile, the Joint Fiscal Committee voted to accept a proposal from the Department of Health and Human Services to use $4.7 million in ARPA funds to help compensate for the money that was rejected by the Executive Council, according to a press release. “New Hampshire is the only state in the U.S. to reject CDC vaccine funding, which has limited our ability to control how the vaccines are provided to Granite Staters. Today’s vote was long overdue and I hope the approved funds can be quickly implemented to make up for lost time,” Rep. Mary Jane Wallner said in a statement after the vote. In a statement, Gov. Chris Sununu said, “This funding is critical to ensure boosters are available to the State’s vulnerable and at risk populations, and will support Regional Public Health Networks to set up efficient vaccine clinics to improve access for individuals and parents who wish to have their children vaccinated.”

Sports betting

Nashua residents will vote on whether to allow physical sportsbook retail locations in the city, while Portsmouth residents will vote on KENO 603 during city elections on Tuesday, Nov. 2. According to a press release, the sports betting legislation was written to provide individual communities with the option to vote on whether to allow the operation of sportsbook retail locations within their communities, while the KENO 603 legislation allows communities the option of allowing that game by putting it on election ballots or town meeting warrants. So far, the release said, 20 communities have approved retail sportsbooks over the past two years, including Manchester, Candia, Derry, Hudson, Londonderry, Pelham, Pembroke, Salem and Windham, and 89 New Hampshire communities have approved KENO 603 during city elections and town meetings.

Police walks

The Manchester Police Community Affairs Division’s 2021 Fall Senior Walks continue, with the next one happening Monday, Nov. 1, at Livingston Park (meet in the parking lot near the playground), followed by one on Monday, Nov. 8, at the Massabesic Lake Trail (meet in the paved parking lot off Londonderry Turnpike, just south of the Massabesic Traffic Circle). According to a press release, these walks allow seniors to spend time with Manchester Police Officers while exercising, socializing and exploring different parts of the city. The walks are about 2 to 3 miles and take about an hour. Both of these walks start at 9 a.m. Visit manchesterpd.com for a full list of walk dates and locations.

Bilingual liaisons

The Manchester School District will hire three additional bilingual liaisons to improve communication with families who don’t speak English, according to an Oct. 25 report from NHPR. The Board of School Committee approved the positions at its Oct. 25 meeting and increased the starting salary from $20 per hour to $25 per hour. The district currently has two Spanish-language liaisons to serve approximately 1,600 Spanish-speaking families, the NHPR report said, and the district is hoping to hire additional staff to work with families who speak some of the city’s most common non-English languages, like Spanish, Vietnamese, Nepali or Portuguese. According to the report, the decision was made amidst pressure on the district to better serve English language learners and recently arrived immigrant families. Bilingual liaisons will interpret between English and a parents’ home language, as well as host workshops and conduct outreach to families. Federal Covid relief funds will provide a portion of these salaries, the release said.

More than 100 people gathered at the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum in Warner on Oct. 11 to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day. According to a press release, a panel discussion aimed at supporting local Native voices was followed by drumming and dancing.

The Bedford Police Department has teamed up with BeBOLD, a Bedford-based nonprofit drug awareness, education and prevention coalition, to recognize Red Ribbon Week (Oct. 23 through Oct. 31) with an initiative called “Bedford Goes Red.” According to a press release, the community is invited to use red lights and/or red bows or ribbons on their homes and businesses. Free ribbons and lights are available for free while supplies last at Primary Bank in the Harvest Market Plaza and at Cohen Closing and Title on Route 101, and red light bulbs are available at Bedford ACE Hardware.

The Merrimack Rotary Club will host an electronics recycling fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 30, at the Merrimack Town Hall from 8 a.m. to noon, raising money for scholarships and community projects. According to a press release, the event is a drive-by dropoff for electronics ranging from telephones and speakers ($5) to computers and laptops ($20) to air conditioners and large flat-screen TVs ($35). The club guarantees a 95-percent recycling rate, with components disassembled and recycled, not ending up in landfills, the release said.

Covid-19 news

During an Oct. 13 press conference, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan reported that New Hampshire had averaged more than 500 new infections of Covid-19 per day over the previous week, with the total number of deaths from the virus now exceeding 1,500 since March 2020. “To put this in perspective, in the last week there have been a total of 17 deaths that have been Covid-19-related that have been identified and reported out. The vast majority of these deaths are occurring outside of long-term care facilities, which is very different from the early days of the pandemic,” Chan said. As of Oct. 18 there were 4,430 active infections and 178 hospitalizations.

Also on Oct. 13, New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs Commissioner Taylor Caswell issued a statement following the U.S. federal government’s announcement that it will lift border restrictions for fully vaccinated travelers from Canada. “Our tourism industry has been anxiously awaiting this news for months,” Caswell said in part. “We are excited to welcome back our Canadian friends very soon and we fully expect to see an increase in visitation to the state in the coming months when our neighbors from the north return.” According to the announcement from U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, the easing of restrictions is expected to occur in two phases, beginning in November with the admittance of fully vaccinated travelers to enter the U.S. from Canada and Mexico at land and ferry points of entry for non-essential reasons. Then, by early January 2022, all foreign nationals entering the country will be required to provide proof of vaccination, regardless of essential travel.

Last week, advisors to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration unanimously voted to recommend booster shots for both the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, during respective meetings on Oct. 14 and Oct. 15, according to press releases. Booster doses had been approved for the Pfizer vaccine late last month. As with Pfizer, recommended booster doses for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines apply to individuals over the age of 65 and to at-risk individuals.

Vax money, protest

On Oct. 13, the New Hampshire Executive Council rejected $27 million in federal funding to boost the state’s vaccination effort, according to a report from WMUR. All four Republicans on the council voted against the funds, the report said, despite Gov. Chris Sununu urging them to accept them. After the vote, he issued a statement: “… Today’s vote by members of my own party on the Executive Council was a total disservice to the constituents we serve,” he wrote. “The vote showed a reckless disregard for the lives we are losing while they turn away the tools our state needs to fight and win this battle against Covid.” According to the WMUR report, some councilors questioned language attached to the funds, worrying it could force the state to comply with federal vaccine mandates. The governor said it was not the case and pointed out the council had already accepted other grants earlier this year with the same language included.

During the meeting, nine of the protesters who were there opposing mask and vaccine mandates were arrested after state police told them that if they disrupted the meeting, there would be arrests. “The individuals arrested at today’s Governor and Council meeting failed to comply with a lawful order from the New Hampshire State Police and intentionally disrupted the meeting,” state police said in a press release sent out after the meeting.

School forums

The Manchester School District is inviting the community to a series of forums on long-term planning for the district’s facilities. The first two forums were held Oct. 19, and the next two are scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 21, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at McDonough Elementary School and Wednesday, Oct. 27, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Highland-Goffe’s Falls Elementary. According to a press release, the forums are the next step in a process of developing a long-term plan for school facilities in the city. Earlier this year Superintendent John Goldhardt presented recommendations based in part on recently completed studies of facilities and city demographics, the release said. Goldhardt wrote to the board that years of avoiding making difficult decisions on school facilities means that the district is “left with … aging buildings that are costly to operate and are not suitable as a modern educational facility.” His recommendations include consolidation of high schools, creation of magnet schools, continuation of the move to the 5-8 model for middle schools and renovation of elementary schools. Anyone with questions about the forums can email [email protected]; use the subject line “Facilities forums.”

Transgender bills

Last week Republicans on the House Education Committee voted on party lines against a bill that would require schools to update documents and software to include the option of identifying a student as non-binary, then moved to recommend killing the bill outright. Rep. Joshua Query (D-Manchester), Vice Chair of the Stonewall Democrats and Chair of the LGBTQ+ Legislative Caucus, released a statement after the vote: “A huge population of Granite State students would benefit from this simple bill. As one of two non-binary legislators in the country, I can attest how crucial this legislation is and how life-affirming an acknowledgment of gender identity can be to a non-binary student. If this was an option when I was a student, it could have allowed me to come to terms with my gender earlier in life.” But the committee also rejected legislation that would have allowed transgender girls to be banned from participation in all-female athletics. According to a report from WMUR, the House Education Committee voted unanimously to declare the bill “inexpedient to legislate.” The Republican sponsor of the bill said legislation was “not ready for prime time” but concerns over protecting girls’ sports remain, the report said.

Reports to IRS

Last week, New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella and 19 other Attorneys General sent a letter to President Biden and Secretary Yellen opposing the Biden administration’s proposal to require all banks, credit unions and financial institutions to report information to the IRS on every bank account that has a balance of at least $600 and exceeds $600 per year in transactions, according to a press release from the Office of the Attorney General. Meanwhile, Gov. Chris Sununu sent a letter urging members of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation to oppose the proposal as well, according to a press release from the Governor’s Office.

United Way

Granite United Way and the Greater Seacoast Region are aligning service areas to achieve greater community impact, according to a press release, with the full alignment expected to be completed by Jan. 1. Patrick Tufts, president and CEO of Granite United Way, said in the release that the partnership is a natural evolution that will allow them to leverage their collective resources. Some of the Greater Seacoast team’s strengths include fostering early childhood development, advancing housing stability, supporting youth, capacity and systems building, strategic planning and strong volunteer engagement, the release said.

For the past few weeks Dartmouth’s Family Medicine Residency at Concord Hospital has been participating in the Frontline Healthcare Worker Project Pilot, an effort that combines arts and medicine to help promote wellness in frontline health care workers who are experiencing stress and trauma. According to a press release, the program was created by Newfields, New Hampshire-based nonprofit Articine and features short guided experiences like meditations, breathing exercises and artist performances, accessed via smart devices. The effectiveness and interest of different video experiences will be assessed at the end of the pilot, with the goal of expanding the program to health care organizations throughout the country, the release said.

The New Hampshire Institute of Politics & Political Library at Saint Anselm College in Manchester has resumed its Bookmark Series of speakers in person after an 18-month hiatus, according to a press release. Coming up next, Washington Examiner correspondent and author David M. Drucker will discuss his book In Trump’s Shadow on Tuesday, Oct. 26, and on Monday, Nov. 1, author Sasha Issenberg will speak with the Institute’s executive director, Neil Levesque, about his recent book, The Engagement: America’s Quarter-Century Struggle over Same-Sex Marriage. Both events start at 6 p.m. and are free and open to the public with advance registration; masks are required. Visit anselm.edu/nhiop.

Nashua High School South is hosting a regional college fair for any junior or senior from southern New Hampshire on Monday, Oct. 25, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. According to a press release, more than 100 colleges and universities will be represented at the fair, including local colleges like UNH, Keene State College, Plymouth State University, Nashua Community College and Rivier University.