 Good afternoon, everyone. Today we'll provide a brief COVID update with modeling and data from Commissioner Pichuck and a health update from Commissioner Levine and then move to today's press conference topic. Later today, my office will send a list of all the opportunities to be vaccinated this week because, as I've said, we're not letting up on making vaccines as available as possible. We don't want accessibility to be the excuse. There was no White House call today, but there will be one next week. So at this point in time, I'll turn it over to Commissioner Pichuck for a quick modeling update. I think it's about two minutes and 27 seconds. Thank you very much, Governor, and good afternoon, everyone. I'm happy to report that Vermont continues to make progress in its nation leading vaccination rates. This week, an additional 2400 Vermonters received their first vaccine dose, increasing the percentage of eligible Vermonters who have started vaccination to 82.8%. That continues to be the highest in the country, and Vermont continues to lead across all other vaccination categories. No matter how you measure it, Vermont remains the most vaccinated state in the country. I'm also happy to report that Vermont was just one of two states that did not report a COVID-19 fatality this week. In fact, Vermont has not had a COVID-19 death in the month of July, the only state to be so fortunate. And we continue to forecast a very low fatality rate for the foreseeable future. Vermont's hospitalization rate remains the lowest in the country, and we've seen our averages steady out, and our critical care numbers decrease over the last two weeks as well. We did see a small increase in cases this week, with Vermont reporting 16 more cases compared to last, but our rates remain in the single digits and also remain the lowest in the country. Our forecast for the next two weeks was revised up a bit as we anticipate a slightly higher caseload, largely driven by rising cases among the unvaccinated in Vermont, the region, and the U.S. In the Northeast, cases rose 38% this week, with New York and Massachusetts seeing the largest increases. It's a good reminder that Delta's impact can be seen even in the most vaccinated region of the country, in part because even in New England, there are still 2.7 million individuals who are eligible for the vaccines, but have not yet protected themselves. Here in Vermont, we must continue to encourage our friends, our families, our neighbors to take advantage of these life-saving vaccines. And that message is so important with cases and hospitalizations rising in the majority of states across the country. We can see that the risk does, however, continue to remain lower in the Northeast compared to much of the rest of the country. And comparing counties by vaccination and case rates, we can see clearly that areas of the country that have fewer vaccinated people are seeing the highest number of cases, again demonstrating the effectiveness of the vaccines and the importance for everyone who can to step up and protect our state. At this time, I'd like to turn it over to Dr. Levine. I'll keep my comments brief, likewise, since as you've already heard, while we continue to have cases, as we've always said we would, overall, COVID activity remains low and our vaccination rate is a robust 82.8 percent of eligible Vermonters with at least one dose. That amounts to over 455,000 people. So here's what you need to know right now. First, the data shows that all three vaccines work against the variants circulating in the U.S. So if you want to protect yourself against COVID and its variants, the best way to do that is to get vaccinated. Two, the amount of time that protection lasts seems to be quite good, but there's still a lot of investigation going on regarding the immune response, which is a good thing. It's good that the manufacturers and the scientific community continue to research this, and the FDA and CDC monitor and evaluate these studies. The bottom line is there's no evidence that you need a booster at this point, but we will closely monitor any new guidance and let you know if that changes. Likewise, if you have an immunocompromising condition, there is no specific guidance yet to receive a booster dose, but there is guidance to consider taking the usual precautions such as wearing a mask. Thirdly, and for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine specifically, it is effective against COVID and the variants here in Vermont. We don't have any evidence it's handling the Delta variant any differently and are awaiting the publication of more data on its performance. There is no conclusive evidence to suggest that a booster with an mRNA vaccine would be necessary, and this is also under active study. So if you got the J&J vaccine, you are still protected. If you are concerned because you are traveling to a state with higher Delta activity, you should consider other strategies such as wearing a mask. And finally, if you're wondering about your level of protection in general, remember you're even more protected here in Vermont because so many people here are vaccinated. This is the real power of vaccines. They give a virus so many dead ends and stop further transmission and keep us all safer and healthier. This is public health at work and why we will keep working all summer long to get the vaccine in front of as many Vermonters as possible so we all have the opportunity to be protected. Governor? Thank you, Dr. Levine. As we've discussed at many press conferences over the last four years, working to turn the tide on Vermont's workforce and demographic trends has been the top priority of my administration. For over a decade, our population has gotten older and there have been fewer workers entering the workforce than those leaving it. And as we've seen across the country, this problem has been amplified by the pandemic. But as you've heard me say repeatedly, the problem in Vermont wasn't caused by COVID. That's why we're focused on growing the economy and making Vermont more affordable while also making critical investments to support our workforce, like record investments in housing. We've also focused on workforce development, trying to give Vermonters the tools they need to succeed in the 21st century economy, helping them learn new skills they can use to move up the economic ladder. Today, I'm pleased to be joined by Patty Prelock, the Provost and Senior Vice President of UVM, as well as Joyce Judy, the President of CCV, to announce the launch of the Upskill Vermont Scholarship Program, which is a new career education program benefiting Vermont workers and businesses. The program will help those who want to gain new skills or even try a new career path as we emerge from the pandemic by offering up to two professional development courses in the coming year through UVM and CCV, at no cost to the Vermont resident. The courses were selected by UVM and CCV to meet today's needs and help grow our economy. This includes careers in the new digital economy, health sciences and communities, as well as leadership and management training to help workers advance in their current fields. The program will also provide career counseling events over the coming months, where folks will be connected directly with employers and be able to ask questions for places that have hundreds of job openings right now. The funding for this initiative, about four million for UVM and the state colleges, was approved by the legislature this year using ARPA funds, and I want to thank them for their work on this as well. As we recover from the pandemic, it's so important that we take advantage of all the funding opportunities that we've been handed to make transformative investments that will help us rebuild stronger than before. Whether it's the billion dollar package I proposed this spring or programs like this making smart investments in our future that have lasting, long-lasting benefits. And it's what we need to do to discuss this program further. And as I said previously, we're joined by Dr. Patty Prelock and President Joyce Judy, who will be able to go into greater detail about this effort. And with that, I'll turn it over to Dr. Prelock. Hello, everyone, and thank you, Governor. I want to begin by thanking you, Governor Scott, for your vision and for the support of the state legislature in making upskill Vermont a reality. The challenges of the past year have called for creativity and ingenuity. This new program brings both to the people of Vermont. And on behalf of the University of Vermont, I want to express our gratitude to you, Governor Scott, for putting your trust in Vermont's public higher education institutions. I'm standing here at the microphone today because of my role as the chief academic officer at the University of Vermont. But my perspective today comes from the other important role I hold as a pediatric healthcare provider and researcher. I know firsthand just how critical it is to get more Vermonters working in these three important high-demand areas and growing fields that the Governor shared. The passion I feel for my career and field of study extends to the possibilities unlocked for everyone in our state through upskill Vermont. I'm also passionate about UVM's commitment to Vermont. In addition to teaching and conducting groundbreaking research as the largest university in the state, we have a unique responsibility as Vermont's land-grant institution to really help the entire state of Vermont in good times and in those times which are much more challenging. Upskill Vermont provides an opportunity to demonstrate once again that all of us at UVM take our land-grant mission really seriously. We are working now in the final phases of this pandemic to restart a stronger, smarter economy in our state and to help Vermont citizens go ahead with a potential job promotion or even a career change. But who are we without our partners? UVM could not be happier to develop yet another strong partnership with the Community College of Vermont. Upskill Vermont builds on more than two dozen collaborations that we already have with UVM and CCV through our affiliation agreements. Together, our course offerings can meet the needs of more people than either institution could achieve on its own. And that breadth is represented in the many course offerings related to digital economy, health care, and communities and leadership and management. Our classes include cybersecurity, bookkeeping, graphic design, integrative health, and dozens of other major topics. I urge every Vermonter to take a look at our course offerings at upskillvermont.org and consider these exciting options totally free. So I now would like to introduce my friend and colleague and partner in Upskill Vermont, Joyce Judy, president of the Community College of Vermont. Please welcome President Judy. Thank you, Patty, and good afternoon. The Community College of Vermont couldn't be more pleased to build on our existing partnerships with UVM. As you heard Patty say, we have for years been working really closely together. It's interesting because 25 years ago, CCV and the University of Vermont, particularly the continuing ed, felt like we were competitors. But we decided 25 years ago that we needed to figure out ways to collaborate to better serve Vermont. And today is just another example of how we are able to come together to better serve Vermonters and Vermont businesses. But this program really is working as a partnership between CCV, UVM, and most importantly with our local businesses. And it's really to help Vermonters gain the knowledge and skills that they need to prepare them for the jobs that are being created for the future. And as the world changes and as Vermont businesses change and scramble to keep up, education is such a core and such a foundational piece of helping people be prepared and helping businesses thrive in Vermont. What sets this particular program apart and makes it especially valuable to Vermonters is that the University of Vermont's Continuing and Distance Education Department is working really closely with businesses, businesses from places like King Arthur Flower, the Outdoor Gear Exchange, Brattleboro's Wet Stone Station Brewery, to really develop a full continuum of educational opportunities for all their employees and people who aspire to join those companies. And one of CCV's roles and why we are really partnering with them is because together we can provide that whole continuum. So I say to Vermonters, if you're ready to invest in yourself, this is the year and this is the time to do it. Because of the federal funding and state funding that was approved by both the legislature and with the governor's support, this is a time that makes higher education finally truly affordable in Vermont. Many of these courses and many of these opportunities are free, but step up now because this money won't be here. I can assure you in the future. So as you think about these things, if you've ever wanted, if you have been overlooked for the job promotion that you've wanted for a long time and people have said you need more education, this is the time to do it. If you're looking to help your current employer stay competitive and continue to evolve your skills, now is the time to do it. Or if you simply want to hedge your bets and prepare for the future because you know that your current job may become obsolete because they want a person, they need someone with more sophisticated skills, now is really the time to do it. CCV has a proud history of working closely with the University of Vermont. And as Patty mentioned, we have many well-established pathways from CCV to UVM. If you get a degree at CCV, many programs, there's a guaranteed admissions to complete your program at the University of Vermont, and it also includes financial incentives. So it has made a University of Vermont degree incredibly affordable. And this particular program is just one more example how two very different institutions. CCV is an open admissions institution. The University of Vermont is a highly selective in a very positive way institution in Vermont. And we are able to really bring our resources together and create incredible programs for Vermont. So thank you, both to Patty and also to the governor for helping us to be able to all come together, bring all of our resources to the table and create really an amazing program. Thank you. Okay, thank you very much. And we'll now open it up to questions. And we'll start with folks in the room. We can just jump in in any order you desire. Governor, for Dr. Prailock, how many people do we expect to serve with these scholarship programs and how many years is this money around for? Thank you for the question. I hope as many Vermonters as possible. So I don't think there's a number on it. And we are thinking that the program will run about two years. And we will find a way to continue to collaborate with CCV and the legislature if we see that the program is working in the way that we intended it to work. And what's the average cost of one of these classes in any given year? So each course, there's two courses that every Vermonter can get for free. And then we have other arrangements with CCV for discounted courses. You know, our courses for Vermonters are much more affordable than they are for our out-of-state students, plus any students who take courses in the summer are at a 30% discount rate. But what the upskill Vermont is doing is allowing two free courses to get people in the door, get them successful, and support them. And that's starting this fall, right? And only this fall? It starts this fall. Joyce, anything you wanted to add about that? Yes, I would say it starts this fall. And I also, one of the things that we found last fall with the workforce 2.0 that was approved by the legislature, that we had a really pretty significant uptick. And so I would say to people that there is a finite amount of money. And so even though the program, the funding might last for a year or two, I would say that based on previous results that I wouldn't count on starting next fall. If people are interested, now is when you need to do it. And in response to your question, if a student was taking a course at CCV, it's about $1,000, of course. That's a little higher, but I always say to people that's what you should plan on in terms of budgeting. Is the idea that folks are going to be able to acquire the skills they need to advance in their careers solely with those two classes? Or that this is your beginning? You know, it really varies. You know, I can give you a couple of examples of people who we were able to use a similar pot of money and a similar funding initiative from last fall. We had a lot of people with advanced degrees who now wanted to get into digital marketing. Or they wanted to, and so a couple of courses did give them that leg up. Or they had 50 credits and two more courses almost got them to an associate degree. And then we also had people that this is the first time they put the toe in their water and thought, okay, I can get started and I can do this. So it's the whole continuum. But I would, I would be real, I want to be really clear. Do I think two college courses, if you're starting out, that will get you to probably your lifelong goal? No. But it would save, from a CCV perspective, it will save you $2,000. That's a wonderful gift. Put another way to balance question. How many students could you accommodate? Well, that's a really good question. Because I think what, well, there's also a lot of different pots of money that have come. This program at the University of Vermont is around critical occupations. We also have some additional funding for the coming home scholarship. So if students were out of state and they wanted to come, they wanted to come back to Vermont and transfer into one of the institutions. There was some funding that's specific for healthcare. So there's a number of different buckets. And so I don't, I don't mean to avoid your question, but there's a lot of pots of money that are available right now. But I will say that the uptick, there's been, we've had a lot of interest. And so, you know, how long will it last? But right now, and I will also say we've had some philanthropic support around some particular things, particularly early college, to really help. Early college is the program for students who are in high school and want to take a year of college, their senior year. It's a great way for students to get started in a college, on a college track. So there's a, right now, there's a number of different pots of money. I can just follow up. A month or so ago, you and the other state college presidents were Vermont Tech. They were announced. The specific high high demand. How much, how much interest have you seen? We've seen, we have, I can't give you the exact numbers, we have seen a lot. And these actually, what's really, you know, nice about this particular, our relationship with the University of Vermont is all of this, we aren't operating in silos, but rather we're all public institutions. And how do we really bring all these services to the table? And I feel like in some way, CCV has the ability to, we are part of the Vermont State Colleges, but we work incredibly closely with the University of Vermont. So it's really, how do we all best serve Vermonters? So CCV has ramped up its efforts in re-skilling and upskilling Vermonters. Are there plans to opening the doors for more occupations, more job opportunities, a wider range of occupations? Well, we have a pretty broad spectrum now. And so if there, I would say to people, if there's a particular, if there is a sector that is in need of coursework and a degree program, they should be contacting the University of Vermont, they should be contacting CCV, they should be contacting some higher-rate entity because we are always developing new programs. So we have a pretty broad spectrum now, but we are always very willing to, you know, cybersecurity is a, it's not a new topic, but it's really escalating and becoming quite popular and in demand. And so we're having to step up to the plate in that. So we try to stay really responsive, but I would say to anybody that's listening, if you have a need and you aren't seeing it met in Vermont, you should definitely be reaching out to someone because we're always in the market to develop that. Just anecdotally, have you been hearing from more people lately who are considering your career change? And is there something about the pandemic that has kind of spurred that people may be having some time off to really think about those big decisions? That's a great question. And actually, we're seeing a lot of interest in career changing and career promotion. I think the pandemic has allowed people to see what can I do and what are the options available. So our continuing education unit, the relationship they are working with CCV has really helped us think about how we could package our courses for certificates that give people a credential. So maybe you're not taking a whole new major, but you're getting the credentials that you need and the skill set that you need to do a particular job. Perfect example. We have a new certificate in healthcare coaching. And so with the current issues that have faced us in terms of mental health and our focus in Vermont on good healthy living, exercise nutrition, we now have people that can be trained using a certificate and get a national credential, sit for an exam, and then our health coaches that can really support you. Digital marking is another one where we have a pretty successful program in the continuing education. And it's a very popular one that's online that people can take. So we will develop and our CDE group, our continuing distance education group is pretty creative. And with Joyce's efforts as well, we're finding some really nice ways to integrate their strengths with our strengths. Thanks. The CDC recently put out its guidance for the fall. When can we expect Vermont's and is Vermont contemplating mass mandate for unvaccinated children and adults in school context? First of all, I don't know if Dr. Levine wants to answer that first or maybe Secretary French. Yeah, maybe we'll let Secretary French answer that first. Are you on the line, Secretary French? Yes. Did you hear the question? Yes. Yeah, thank you. We're pleased, I think, with the CDC guidance, it certainly is comprehensive. And I think also importantly, you know, we'll provide states flexibility because, as you know, there are a variety of conditions across the country right now. So we'll review that guidance and we'll be producing something in August for our schools. Again, I think I'll ask Dr. Levine to chime in. I think we're still thinking that if any mitigation steps are necessary in schools, they'll be fairly nominal and easy to follow. Do you say August is when we can expect guidance? Yes, we'll do something in August for schools before the opening of school. And do you anticipate the current guidance, which is that mass gagging cannot be required, will probably be the status quo in the fall? Well, we'll make that assessment based on, you know, the conditions in Vermont. So it's, it is a bit of a balancing act. You know, we want to wait until we get as close to opening of school as possible. On the other hand, districts need heads up so they can begin to plan and react to that. But again, I'm thinking, I don't think that's changed. CDC guidance is, I think, comprehensive and useful, but also very familiar to us. All the ideas of layered medication are ones we've been employing for the last year. But we'll make that assessment as close as possible to the start of school while at the same time acknowledging that if our mitigation recommendations require some deliberation on the part of districts, we want to balance that with giving them enough lead time to develop an implementation plan. All right, thank you. Just to build on Secretary French's comments, keep in mind what the CDC came out with is really trying to enable schools across the country to begin to open up since so many didn't get that close to that. Vermont was pretty much open. And though we had different levels of in-person versus hybrid versus all remote, for the most part, we did very well as a state getting our kids into school and tried to build on that. So the strategies in the CDC's recent publication, as Secretary French said, are very familiar to us. And they're basically everything that's out there that we were aware of before. The thing that we'll be watching most closely between now and when the guidance comes out is exactly what the conditions are on the ground. And if they remain the way they are here, obviously, that's an incredibly wonderful situation to begin school upon. And we'll be watching what goes on here and around the country to make sure that we have the right layers in place, if you will, because these are all very flexible. One thing the CDC document refers to in one context, which is student athletes and testing and protocols for competitions, doesn't address in total for the whole document, which is what is the community level of transmission of virus going on. But that's something that they imply needs to be taken into account every time you make a decision about are you going to have three-foot spacing? Are you going to have masking? Are you going to have neither? So all of that will be taken into account. And we feel it's a little premature here in the beginning of July to begin to really emphatically say what we're going to say a month from now. How concerned are you that the Delta variant will be a complicating factor here? Well, the Delta variant is going to be a complicating factor everywhere because it is going to be the number one virus. But again, at the same time, with our level of vaccination and our current levels of cases and how things are progressing in Vermont, I'm not really thinking that as Delta begins to become more and more prevalent in other communities around the country that it's going to have the same impact here. What we're seeing right now, especially in some of these southern and midwestern states, are real clusters and pockets of intensitivity of the virus which almost universally correlate with low vaccination rates. So the goal is, again, that Vermont has such a high vaccination rate it will protect itself from having any of those kinds of flare-ups in the viral activity and any of the impact on people's health that we're seeing around the country. Community transmission will be less of a warning sign given that, frankly, the school population is going to be very different than the out-of-school population and that it's going to be the largest unvaccinated chunk of people in the state. Right. So, you know, we're having enough testing done right now that I'm pretty confident that we know what's going on and that we're not underestimating, if you will, what viral activity there is in the state. I do understand that in the younger than 12, there may be less symptoms, there may be less awareness of who's infected, who's not infected, but even during the school year previously, we had a pretty good awareness of where infections were and were able to still allow education to go on pretty much unimpeded most of the state, most of the time. So I'm not too concerned about that at this point. Dr. Levine, why are you up there? Sorry, what do you make of the CDC's statement on the small possible risk of a rare but potentially dangerous neurological condition with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine? You know, when you look at the numbers, it's a very small chance, but what should people feel when they see that? And is this something we should expect over the next few months as we're learning more about these vaccines to see headlines like that? Yeah, so just so the general public as a context, we're talking about an entity called Guillain-Barre syndrome, which is a neurologic illness characterized by weakness, sensation issues, sometimes paralysis. It's occurred in 100 people, and this is, again, testimony to this incredible reporting system that's been stood up for the entire vaccine effort for months and months now, the adverse event reporting system, where they look for what's called signals of something that seems to be present a little more than one might have expected, whether it's a patient complaining of weakness, whether it's a physician saying Guillain-Barre syndrome, these all get recorded. So we're talking about 10 cases per million, per 1.3 million, to be exact, and a total of 100 cases right now. So this is considered rare and unusual, but worthy of mention because it did occur, and that signal was picked up. I would not want anyone to think that, oh, this is just another reason if I'm an unvaccinated person to not get vaccinated because, again, this is incredibly rare. It has been seen many decades ago after influenza, and it's not like this is the first time it's ever been seen in world history. It's an immune phenomenon with the patient's immune system kind of working against themselves, if you will. Very quickly, CDC came out, and I think very appropriately said, your risk of having an adverse event or some chronic sequela to COVID because you weren't vaccinated and you got COVID is far greater than this kind of risk for this kind of vaccine-related entity, which hasn't yet been caused in effect. So we don't actually know definitively that the vaccine caused it, but it has been associated. And I'd like to just repeat what they said that, again, this should not be the reason why somebody who hasn't yet gotten around to being vaccinated says, you know, not for me. I'm not going to take that chance, 10 cases and 1.3 million. I would think you have a far greater chance with the Delta variant actually of getting the virus because it is so much more readily transmissible. And then hopefully you would have a smooth course, but you would have a greater probability of having a problem from getting the virus than you would from getting the vaccine. Do you, does this syndrome show up pretty quickly? I mean, if you got back in three months ago, were you in there and I'm just asking. So 100 cases occurred within 42 days of getting the vaccine, but the highest number of cases were evident within the first two weeks. So about two weeks after getting the vaccine. Governor, two weeks ago, your administration agreed to, I guess, a two-week reprieve for folks that are in emergency motel housing that would not qualify under the new rules to try to submit paperwork showing that they have a disability that would allow them to remain at the motel housing. What's going to happen? Does it, maybe it expires tomorrow or the next day? We've had about 40, I believe I'm right, about 40 of them approved at this point. So let's keep in mind, we're talking about a population of about 2,300. We're talking about 700 moving away from the program because we don't, for one thing, it's not sustainable. Secondly, we don't have the motels and hotels available that we'd had before. And we believe that going back to more traditional means of helping the homeless would be more beneficial to the individual as well, getting the wraparound services and so forth that they need, whether it's addiction issues, mental health issues. And we didn't necessarily have eyes on that when they were in some of the hotels and motels. So we believe this is a better approach. We took this, the legislature understood that we didn't have this wasn't sustainable. We wouldn't be able to continue and asked us to come up with a plan. We did, they approved it. We had all the stakeholders together and here we are today. So I'm going to ask Secretary Smith, if he's on the line, if he has any updates or anything that I've missed out of that. Secretary Smith. No, Governor, you're fairly right on on that. We had 37 clients that had applied for the extension of the 14 days. We are still housing 1488 people in our program. We have said before that we have expanded the eligibility criteria from the pre pandemic era and as a result, we'll be spending about $40 million this year on the hotel motel program. But we have as of yesterday afternoon, the Department of Children and Families has dispersed about 536 essential payment checks, that's the $2,500 checks that were available for people who were leaving the program. So, you know, we continue to house a lot of people will continue to spend a lot of money this year will transition to what we had done. We're using navigators to help people find housing. We're using rapid restoration funds or rapid resolution funds and other funds like the $2,500 the rapid resolution funds are $8,000 to help help with housing costs. We have rental subsidies. We have shelter capacity coming up. We have a governance group that's working for the future on what this program is going to be because I want to be clear on this. This program was never designed to end homelessness. It was designed to respond to a public health emergency, namely stay home, stay safe. And the hotel rooms are just not an appropriate place for many of the population. And then of course, the governor's unprecedented investment in housing, 250 million over three years, but 120 million this year for permanent housing for those that are homeless and shelter capacity. It is it is amazing what we're spending here. So Peter, I think it was Peter to answer your question, 37 taken advantage of that agreement. Out of how many that applied? That's that to apply to everybody that applied got granted. So they will be able to stay to the 14 days. But even though they've been approved as having a qualifying disability, they will still have to leave their motel housing tomorrow. No, these have not. I'm sorry. These are ones that have applied for the extension for 30 37 people have applied for the extension. I don't have the number of how many have received their determination of disability because it was a 14 days. As you remember, it was 14 days to get their paperwork. And as you remember, we expanded the disability criteria from that from having disability through Social Security or Veterans Affairs to getting a doctor to certify that you do have a disability where you can't work for 90 days. I haven't got the the number of people that have been granted that disability, but the 37 people applied for that 14 day extension. Peter, I'll give you the number of people that have been granted. I have a follow up question. You mentioned that the older traditional way serving the homeless population might be more beneficial because wrap around services could be better delivered that way. Could you elaborate on that? I'm surprised to hear that. It would be harder to deliver support services and wrap around services to homeless homeowners that weren't being had. Let's say we had a number of homeless shelters. And the reason that we had to come up with a different program was the homeless shelters who had been shut down. Some of the homeless shelters would have professionals there to make sure that their people are checking in doing what they could to help making sure they had food and anything else they might need for substance abuse or mental health issues. I mean they were just eyes on the clients, so to speak, people coming through the door. Whereas in the hotel motel program they were pretty much on their own. And so they weren't as visible. They weren't as many people visiting them and seeing what the challenges were or are and getting the help they needed. So case managers like going to go to the hotel? They just weren't, it wasn't the same. You know the case managers didn't necessarily follow them into homeless shelters. It was the people that were running the homeless shelters that were the case managers in some respects. And then brought in people to help out, professionals to help out in those cases of some of the again challenges that they were experiencing. So they were more, I mean there were more of them as well. 2300 I think the homeless population at one time was maybe 400. I may be off on that number pre-pandemic. So this issue you know grew as well. So again getting back to opening up the homeless shelters, making sure that we're there to help and get those wraparound services that they desperately need. So you heard this from both servicing, the homeless from the apartment? I heard this from the agency of human services, Department of Children and Families. Governor, could you tell us what your expectations and hopes are for the state broadband board and your decision to appoint the person who challenged you in the general election in 2018 to lead it? Well as you might remember we had a lot of discussions two or three years ago during that campaign and they're political in nature. I mean that's what they're all about. But one of the issues we did not debate we agreed on was the need for broadband and I think it was just really about how we pay for it. I thought that we needed the federal government to be involved more of an REA approach and in the end that's off the table. We have the resources we now need to implement but with the experience of Christine as a CEO of a utility company and since then working with some of the some of the broadband groups in the Northeast Kingdom I can't think of a better person to put in that position to get this accomplished. I wanted someone who could hit the ground running. We have the resources to do so we just need the drive and energy and the expertise to get it done and I really believe she's the right person the right time to accomplish this and so after any election I try and put everything aside and then do what I think is right for Vermont. Governor getting back to Howard for a second if my calendar is correct I think this week the eviction moratorium expires is ours linked to the extension from the CDC at the federal level whereas ours expires. Ours was linked to the state legislature had said 30 days after the emergency order expired thus did the eviction. What are you expecting to see and what what need is there I mean? Yeah I don't know what to expect in some instances I know that the courts will now take control in some respects they will be the ones to determine whether someone should be evicted or this do cause to be evicted so I I don't know I haven't heard much so my hope is that there won't be that many that will have to go into the judicial branch but it's up to them at this point I have faith in them but the courts are backed up as well so it may be a little bit before those cases are heard. All right I need to move to the phones now folks if you have another follow-up question in the room just shoot nice and can I just can I just add just a couple of things one Stuart you'd ask about the how many students can be accommodated I think I think we're going to have to figure out how what the demand is in what areas and I just wanted to expand on that too because not only is it for cyber security and some of the digital marketing and so forth and so on and but it's for trade the trades as well so apprenticeships think about electrical trades or plumbing heating ventilating as well so there are opportunities there so it's widespread and we want people to make sure that they know all the opportunities that are out there because this really is they could be a turning point in their lives. All right we'll go to Wilson Reign the Associated Press. Hi good morning everybody. A real quick follow-up on the delta question. Dr. Louie do you know if the cases however the increasing cases here however small are those coming up delta do you know and can Vermont ever be truly safe as long as delta is out there and who knows what other variants that could come along afterwards? Yeah so we have a whole bunch of recent cases that we're doing whole genome sequencing on I don't have those results for you right now you know we were only seeing a few cases a day a week ago now we're seeing you know somewhere in the eight case a day range so we have more cases to sequence and I'll get you those results when we have them unlike doing a COVID test sequencing can be a week long process so it's not an immediate turnaround with regard to the but although but I have to say that you know I would still not be surprised to see more delta making up as a percentage of those cases. Again delta is something that is still COVID it's still the coronavirus it is more readily transmissible so you would expect it to increase slightly but at the same time we're not going to be looking at delta that much differently than we look at coronavirus all along the way so it shouldn't markedly change any of the approach and that includes the approach to vaccine which is why we're maintaining a very very high level of availability of vaccine and trying to connect as many Vermonters with it because that is still the number one way to warrant to not have to worry about delta or any future variant the less a person can actually get infected with the virus transmitted to others allow the virus to mutate because it's being transmitted actively that's the way we win this game with the coronavirus or any virus for that matter so again same kind of strategy that we've been using all along and no let up on the intensity of that strategy. Okay thank you very much. I don't want to lose our perspective on this either it just is a reminder seven months ago seven months ago we had just started vaccinating Vermonters and those across the country eight months ago we didn't have anyone vaccinated so we were on 100% vulnerable in some respects now we have 82.8% who are vaccinated so the vast majority of them are protected right now 82.8% more than eight months ago so we have seven roughly 17% left to go out of the 17% I would venture and I don't have the information on this but I would venture that some of them have had COVID so they have built up some sort of immunity natural immunity I would think we don't know how long that will last but of some sort so we're talking about a fairly small number here in this state and we have a lot to be again be proud of for what we've done and we're not stopping yet I mean again it was just a few short weeks ago that we hit 80% and now we're three three points ahead of that and we're going to continue to offer vaccinations to Vermonters so we this is in our control now we can we can do this if we get more people vaccinated we can put this problem to bed okay thank you very much Lisa Loomis the value reporter good afternoon my question is about the Department of Motor Vehicles we've been hearing from readers who are unable to make timely appointments at CMB and I know that some offices are reopening is there any updates on the Department of Motor Vehicles Lisa I don't know if we have anyone on today no we'll get someone to contact you I we did talk about opening up more of the offices some of the smaller hybrid offices and that will take a little bit of the load off from some of the larger operations that we have so I'm in hopes that we can do that as well we're getting through some of the backlog that was created because a lot of folks did so by mail and that's you know been beneficial but we were a little overwhelmed at one point with that but we're catching up so for those who can you should do it online you should do it by mail and for those who want to go in person you can search out a bit too because we're opening up other offices if you live in between let's say Montpelier and St. Jay or St. Albans you might want to consider going to one of those facilities but they're not open every day as a reminder went back to what their hours were pre-pandemic great thank you very much Greg Lamarrow the county courier good afternoon governor I think this would be a question for Dr. Levine you've talked several times about the possibility in the future of booster shots if someone wants a booster shot is it available from the state can somebody go to one of these clinics and get a booster shot or would they be denied they would probably be denied because again we don't have evidence base that getting a booster at this point in time is the advisable path one thing you want to do when you start letting people sort of experiment if you will whether it be get a booster whether it be get a different vaccine than the one that they started with um you run the risk of them getting a sense of false reassuredness that what they've done is the icing on the cake and now they're invincible and the reality is we really don't know that so I'd much rather people do things like that when the evidence points to doing it and that's a challenge for some people I think because everybody wants to be as protected as possible and they're hearing all the news reports about the Delta variants spreading from here to there and everywhere else but the bottom line is it doesn't mean that another action is indicated if they've already gotten fully vaccinated with the vaccine that they have that is fine and in fact federal officials just met literally yesterday and again came to that same conclusion so at this point in time we shouldn't veer from that conclusion so does the state of Vermont have the system if someone were to walk up and say I want a shot does the state of Vermont have a system on site to know if they've already been vaccinated based on their name and and date of birth as that work that yes I mean they can the vaccine registry can be checked to see if that person has been vaccinated my sense is that you know the person would usually be coming up asking for a booster so they would probably be able to tell them what they've already gotten but is that if I've just rechecked as a rule or I'm just curious from a logistical point of view is that really what happens or do you help officials just say okay you know put your name here and we'll get you shot it's a good question you know I don't know from the standpoint of a pharmacist or one of our healthcare partners working in one of these clinics if they would actually take the trouble to check because if someone's coming to present for their first dose of vaccine I think they would assume that they're presenting for their first dose of vaccine I think that's it for me thank you Tim McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Hi good afternoon I have a question for um Dr. Freelock and or um President Judy about the um the program and I'm wondering what I want to be clear on the the amount of money is it one pot is uvm getting some and ccb getting some and then I have a follow-up question also um yes the University of Vermont received a million dollars to support the upscale Vermont program and President Judy can answer for ccb yes and the Vermont State College has received funding from in a lot of different sources um so under the um the critical occupations spread out among the four institutions I believe it's 4.5 million so there's a number of different um pots of money um related to that is it is a 4.5 including the one million that uvm death no that's a separate separate appropriation there's money that came directly to the Vermont State College there's money that came to the University of Vermont and what we're presenting today is that we're really working together to try and make sure that Vermonters who need the skills and whatever program they want it's not that okay you go to uvm or you go to ccb or you go to another Vermont State Colleges and that's the end of the line but rather we're trying to figure we're trying to work really closely together so that there's a continuum of opportunities and I think earlier a question about you know if I was interested in this particular sector you should you should a person should look across the all the public institutions in Vermont and my hunch is that you would find something that would fit the bill right and I just wanted to add that we have several relationships that have already been started with ccv and vermont technical college that we've been working on for the last several years so say I wanted to say I had a bachelor's degree and I wanted to change careers to a more technical one how would I start this process well there's a number of different options and I think one of the things that the University of Vermont's continuing education program is offering some career workshops that are being offered in the month of August if if you came to ccv directly we have as I think most people know we have 12 locations throughout the state we also have a very strong online component we have coordinators that are academic advisors that serve and support people and we serve a lot of adults as you know ccv's average age is 28 people come to us and with all kinds of questions they've been in the military now they want to transition into civilian life and I'm interested in digital technology or I'm interested in plumbing and heating where should we go and you know we might direct them to vermont tech's apprenticeship program that they have with the department of labor or if they were looking for you know health coaching it might go to the University of Vermont it's really trying to match people's interests and I think every one of our schools has people that can help greet people and figure out where is it best for them to start and I know President Judy that ccv is open enrollment but the other colleges uh don't necessarily device looking for a uvm course would have to be accepted like any other uvm student would be that's a good question we actually have opportunities for people who are not of specific majors and minors so we have a non-degree program so you can enroll up to several courses as a non-degree student to determine what your pattern is we're also working on a relationship with ccv to potentially do some co-enrollment where a student could be at ccv and uvm so we're working on that plan but no you can really enroll in a program through our continuing and distance education as a non-degree student and while salad seven days hi can you hear me we can um governor last week I had asked you about the Canadian border you said you were going to find out if there was any movement on it other than some movements like Chuck Schumer I guess to um get it open on this side were you able to find out anything more now I was hoping that I would be able to ask that question on today's call with the White House but um but most of me they've gone to every other week and at that point I didn't know uh that they'd gone to the next week on Tuesday so I intend to bring that up again next week but I did talk with our senator Leahy about this and he's offered whatever sport he can give obviously we have mutual interest and we'll continue to advocate for this so but I but I won't have that opportunity with the White House officials I don't believe until next week all right thanks so much that'll do it thanks tom davis compass Vermont hi thanks jason governor sort of a follow-up to that uh i'm curious prime minister chrudo has been pretty emphatic about the fact that even as the border restrictions are loosened that unvaccinated Americans which obviously these Vermonters are not going to be welcome for quite some time the question I have is have you heard anything about what kind of requirements Canadian government's going to kind of have in place for particularly Vermonters who want to go to Canada and prove they're vaccinated once the restrictions are lifted yeah I have not uh Tom heard what that would look like um I I'd not oppose to the idea on either side because I think it just makes makes sense but um but I don't know how that would be I think they're having some trouble with their program and I don't know that we our program um is uh is maybe as far along as theirs so I know that we have cards available and we might have to attest to that but uh but the cards are just simply vaccination cards you receive after being vaccinated here in the states so they could be replicated I'm sure and there could be you know some prod I would imagine so I don't know what it would look like but but that will be one of my questions as well okay thank you uh second question is the new report card came out on financial literacy in America Vermont's grade in that area rose from a D to a C but it seems like there's a bit of work which still needs to be done to improve financial literacy across the country but obviously in Vermont as well um are there specific programs that Vermont's looking at enhancing to have that happen I am not aware I know I worked with the um with the treasurer on this when I was lieutenant governor I think that is uh is essential that the Vermonters understand you know how money works and and what they can do to to protect themselves in a lot of regard but maybe maybe secondary French would have more on this if he's on could you repeat the question governor it was about uh the question was about uh financial literacy and our grade increase from a D to a C and just wondering and so we still have some room to go and wondered Tom was wondering if there was any plans any programs that uh we might have that would get us uh higher in the uh on the scale yeah I don't know about higher but I think you alluded to what had been a pretty uh it is a very successful program it was a partnership with the treasurer's office and Champlain College so I think you know we have a really solid uh online and module sort of base curriculum out there for students to use um you know like a lot of these data that we're seeing these days I'm not sure to what extent um that's a function of you know the COVID environment or what have you but I would I would suspect we need to do more on leveraging uh remote learning technology in particular to make sure that um the curriculum which is really really robust uh is better distributed across the state is it secretary is there any uh is there is there any program at the public education level when people are still in secondary school that would at least prepare them to want to continue on to these types of programs yeah I think you know increasingly there's a lot of uh in particular online learning options for students in these areas uh there's several national level curriculum in this area in particular um but again it's it's a question of uh communications often and uh and then figuring out how to fit it into the curriculum there's a lot of pressure as you know on on school day to teach lots of different subjects so uh this is obviously a fairly critical one for both education and broader societal success so it needs to be a priority uh in the system but um you know again I feel I feel really comfortable that there it's not a question of a lack of curriculum I think the curriculum is there it's really a question of communication and you know providing the infrastructure so students can access the curriculum hey Tom we do have our commissioner of the department of financial regulation here maybe I'll ask uh commissioner P check as well as uh uh Joyce Judy I think CCB might have some courses that might help out yeah thank you governor and thank you Tom so you're absolutely right I mean it's critical financial literacy for Vermonters it's great to see that the score went up there's certainly areas you can point to where Vermonters do very well relating to financial matters whether it's Vermonters average credit score whether it's amount of savings and things of that nature but there's also issues relating to retirement savings emergency funds as well that we see definitely throughout throughout Vermont so it's a critical issue our department before the pandemic often partnered with the treasurer's office with other you know regional enterprises and projects to get financial literacy out into the community to learn about financing insurance to learn about investments sort of you know on the ground you know event by event and that always proved to be very successful and people were very interested and we've tried to find ways to leverage that as well through online resources but you know I think people are really interested in learning it and we certainly encourage our industry also to emphasize consumer education as well to their customers very good thank you very much I was just going to offer one other option the community College of Vermont partners with the New England Federal Credit Union and they offer a module in a course that we call the Introduction to College and Careers which is a free course to high school sophomores really targeted helping to prepare them for the future and I will tell you that that module over and over and over again is the most popular module in that course and it serves we generally serve between 500 and 800 high school sophomores a year with that particular course thank you sounds like there's some resources that people just need to know more about so that they can access them I appreciate it Chris Roy Newport Daily Express yes good afternoon we're here in nationwide here in Vermont that summer camps programs are being hit without a COVID outbreak and are there any precautions that these summer programs in general should be taken with kids either dead camps or overnight camp yeah I'm not hearing that we have an issue here in Vermont but we did put some guidelines in place when we announced the the program so I don't believe that we're having an issue here in Vermont Chris unless you have heard different I haven't had time to research it yet I'm gonna let dr. Levine answer were you were you worried about camps having to close because of infection well either having to close or what we cautioned that programs that taken yeah now that we're in the middle of summer here to protect kids at these different programs whether a day program or week long program yeah so you know we one thing we have eyes on is over a dozen camps have used testing protocols for students on their arrival and we've seen the results of hundreds and hundreds of tests that were performed and not one of them was positive so these camps I think felt pretty good about the fact that they could start out their camp experience with a pretty much uninfected group of kids who are coming to sometimes coming to Vermont from elsewhere sometimes already living in Vermont there also was guidance provided to all of the camps regarding different mitigation strategies that they could utilize and recommendations for when masking would be appropriate or not so I think they all started out on a pretty solid foundation and I've not heard of any specific cases or instances where a camp has had its operations jeopardized at this point okay thank you hi page from on daily Chronicle hello governor president biden has announced plans to send vaccine educators door to door in areas of low vaccination will Vermont be participating in that and if so where you know we did a little bit of that in some respects in the northeast kingdom when we had EMTs going right to your doorstep for those who couldn't make it in I don't I don't know if we have plans for doing that in the future but if anyone you know it might be part of of our strategy in the future if there are folks out there that would like to have be vaccinated and we need to come to them we may do that but but it won't be you know cold calling knock on the door type of approach well okay so you won't be doing the hello we're here and we'd like to talk to you about vaccination no I mean we we want to educate as much as possible we don't want people to do the right thing but we're not going to pressure them in that in that manner okay question for you or secretary french can you tell me how many students as far as you know so far will be homeschooled this fall what the kind of early count is I I don't know maybe secretary french knows no we don't have a count yet guy but I will have those numbers as we get closer to the start of the school year typically we don't see a significant uptick in the application process till around august 1st at any rate so I'm sure many folks as you know we're interested in homeschooling last year as a result of the COVID pandemic so I think many many families are still probably watching that trying to assess what the conditions will be like in the fall but I'll have an update on those numbers as we get closer to the start of the school year great thank you very much riley robinson bt digger hi good afternoon I have a question about genomic sequencing um so back to variance I'm wondering what percentage of COVID tests in vermont are being sequenced um how like how good is the data on that yeah so I don't have a recent number for you um some of it has to do with the integrity of the specimen if you will that it can be sequenced that we have a specimen that's valid to work with others have to do with the fact that they were done in our lab and our lab is now doing sequencing or at the uvm lab which is also doing sequencing some are done with our contract with the brode institute in boston and that's more random if you will so um probably next week I can get you the number of recent positive tests that have been sequenced it's going to be relatively high because again we have a relatively low number of positive tests so we can do a higher percentage of them okay thank you okay thank you very much we'll see you again next Tuesday