[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 171 (Thursday, September 30, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H5556-H5557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 COVID INFECTION AND VACCINATION RATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Courtney) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, this morning, I wanted to share with the 
Chamber the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and 
the Department of Health and Human Services regarding infection rates 
and vaccination rates in the country.
  I am proud to say, the State of Connecticut, which the Speaker knows 
well, we ranked as the lowest infection rate in the country, 1.4 
percent, 14 cases per 100,000.
  Simultaneous with that report were the numbers regarding vaccination 
rates. For the population 18 and over, we are at an 80 percent 
vaccination rate, which, again, is the highest in the country.
  It is blindingly obvious there is a causal connection between 
communities that come together to boost vaccination rates and the 
benefit and the result of reducing infection rates. The benefit, in 
terms of our hospital system in the State of Connecticut, again, we 
have 9 per 100,000 COVID patients, which ranks number three in the 
country, right behind Vermont and the State of Massachusetts, which are 
7 per 100,000 and 8 per 100,000.
  What does that mean? It means there is no pressure on your ICU units. 
There is allowance for normal elective surgeries and the processes of 
hospitals to continue, which is the endgame of what we all should be 
focused on like a laser, which is to get beyond this pandemic.
  It didn't happen by itself.
  Anecdotally, in my district, I was over at the Coast Guard Academy 
the other day: a 99 percent vaccination rate with the student body at 
the Coast Guard Academy. These are the future leaders of our coastal 
sea service, and they get it. They understand the benefits, that they 
can attend class and have a normal campus life.
  Across the river, the submarine base in Groton, again, just shy of a 
90 percent vaccination rate. That is 10,000 sailors and officers. These 
are people with families. These are folks who have pregnant spouses. 
But they get it. I mean, there is no way you can socially distance in a 
submarine. They are now the number one naval installation in America in 
terms of vaccination rates.
  Again, it did not happen by itself. Governor Lamont, back in the 
spring of 2020, basically tuned out all the noise. He brought together 
experts from the Yale School of Public Health. He brought together 
experts from the Hartford HealthCare hospital system, which is the 
largest hospital system. They brought together the community health 
centers. They brought together community groups. They stayed focused in 
terms of getting testing, masking, and vaccinations out there to the 
public at large.
  I would note, Madam Speaker, that when we passed the American Rescue 
Plan back in March, like every State, we were given an allocation to 
our public health system for communication and education. Again, it has 
been put to good use, obviously, as these numbers show this morning.
  On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced the release of funding 
for community health centers, which have been the backbone in terms of 
reaching hard-to-get populations, to get the help that they need during 
this pandemic. In eastern Connecticut, the two community health 
systems--United Children and Family Services, and Generations--are 
getting close to $1 million for new equipment and new infrastructure to 
carry out their mission to make sure that we are going to beat this 
virus once and for all.
  All the issues that we talk about here--and they are all so 
important--right now, we still cannot be distracted from the need to 
get on the other side of this pandemic. These numbers from my State 
today show that when you work together, when you just combat all the 
misinformation and bad stuff

[[Page H5557]]

that is out there about vaccines and masking--we had a hearing in 
Hartford where we had people up there saying that the authorization 
from the FDA was only for the German vaccine, not the American Pfizer 
vaccine, which is ridiculous. That stuff is out there, but we have 
overcome that.
  Again, the numbers speak for themselves in terms of that success.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure that we 
keep this priority number one, two, and three because that is how we 
recover our economy, and that is how we recover a normal life in this 
country. So, let's work together.

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