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New Hampshire requests no new vaccine doses as pace of vaccination slows

Governor says he's not in favor of offering vaccination incentives

New Hampshire requests no new vaccine doses as pace of vaccination slows

Governor says he's not in favor of offering vaccination incentives

SO THE STATE IS SCALING BACK ITS RESPONS E. NEW HAMPSHIRE IS ENTERING A NEW PHASE OF THE PANDEMIC... WITH THE STATE OF EMERGENCY EXPIRING AT MIDNIGHT TOMORROW NIGHT. <CLIP 3658, 25:06-25:18 CHAN IT'S A HARD QUESTION TO ANSWER IN TERMS OF WHEN E TH COVID-19 OUTBREAK IN NH IS GOING TO BE OVER BUT CERTAINLY WE'VE SEEN DRAMATIC REDUCTIONS IN T HE LEVELS OF COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION.> THE STATE WILL NOT RENEW FEDERAL UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS THIS SUMMER. A DECISION... THE GOVERNOR SAYS BEING DRIVEN BY DROPPING UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBER S. <CLIP 3658, 10:53-11:05 NEARLY 5,700 PEOPLE HAVE STOPPED FILING FOR BENEFITS, TAKI NG ADVANTAGE OF THE STATE'S HIRING FRENZY AND REJOINING THE WORKFORCE. THAT'S ABOUT A 17% DROP IN UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS IN JUST THE LAST FEW WEEK> S. ON THE VACCINE FRONT... SUPPLY IS SO HIGH IN NEW HAMPSHIRE THAT STATE OFFICIALS DIDN'T REQUEST ANY VACCINE DOSES THIS WK EE FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. BUT SUNUNU IS STILL AGAINST OFFERING VACCINE INCENTIVES. <CLIP 3658, 16:42-16:49 WE'RE NOT GOING TO OVERLY INCENTIVIZE YOU TO MAKE A HEALTH CARE CHOICE BASEDN O MONEY. I KIND OF HAVE A FUNDAMENTAL BLOCK WITH THAT .> THE GOVERNOR GOT EMOTIONAL WHEN ASKED TO RESPOND TO THOSE WHO ARGUE HE'S BENEFITTED POLITICALLY FROM HIS WEEKLY TELEVISED PRESS CONFERENCE S. <CLIP 3658, 45:07-45:18 I HOPE NO GOVERNOR HAS TO GO THROUGH THIS. I REALLY MEAN THAT. IT WAS REALLY HARD FOR A YEAR. I'M GETTING A LITTLE EMOTIONAL. THERE WERE A LOT OF SACRIFICES MADE. THE TEAM DID AN INCREDIBLE JOB.> <CLIP 3658, 45:48-45:54 FOR ANYONE INSINUATING THAT WE SOMEHOW USED TS HI FOR A POLITICAL ADVANTAGE, SHAME ON THEM. SHAME ON THEM.> SUNUNU ADDING THAT THESE BRIEFINGS HAVE OFFERED A LEVEL OF TRANSPARENCY THAT HE SAYS GRANITE STAT
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New Hampshire requests no new vaccine doses as pace of vaccination slows

Governor says he's not in favor of offering vaccination incentives

New Hampshire continues to have an excess of COVID-19 vaccine doses, and health officials said no new vaccine doses were requested this week.Health officials said fewer people want the show now, but they're also ordering less because the vaccine has a shelf life, and they're trying not to waste any.The state can ask for up to about 50,000 vaccine doses each week from the federal government. Gov. Chris Sununu said that last week, the state requested 50% of its allocation.New Hampshire has not had to send any doses back to the federal government. But despite the drop in demand and surplus of supply, Sununu is still not in favor of offering incentives, as other states have done."If you haven't chosen to take the vaccine by now, we're not going to pay you to do that," he said. "I'm not going to say, use a bribe or anything like that, but we're not going to overly incentivize you to make a health care choice based on money. I kind of have a fundamental block with that."Sununu said he believes that by the end of summer, at least 70% of eligible Granite Staters will be fully vaccinated. "It's a hard question to answer in terms of when the COVID-19 outbreak in New Hampshire is going to be over," Sununu said. "But, certainly we've seen dramatic reductions in the levels of community transmission."The state will not renew federal unemployment benefits this summer. A decision, the governor said was driven by dropping unemployment numbers. "Nearly 5,700 people have stopped filing for benefits, taking advantage of the state's hiring frenzy and rejoining the workforce. That's about a 17% drop in unemployment claims in just the last few weeks." >> MORE FROM WMUR: Some Exeter parents upset after numbers written on hands of unvaccinated prom seniors

New Hampshire continues to have an excess of COVID-19 vaccine doses, and health officials said no new vaccine doses were requested this week.

Health officials said fewer people want the show now, but they're also ordering less because the vaccine has a shelf life, and they're trying not to waste any.

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The state can ask for up to about 50,000 vaccine doses each week from the federal government. Gov. Chris Sununu said that last week, the state requested 50% of its allocation.

New Hampshire has not had to send any doses back to the federal government. But despite the drop in demand and surplus of supply, Sununu is still not in favor of offering incentives, as other states have done.

"If you haven't chosen to take the vaccine by now, we're not going to pay you to do that," he said. "I'm not going to say, use a bribe or anything like that, but we're not going to overly incentivize you to make a health care choice based on money. I kind of have a fundamental block with that."

Sununu said he believes that by the end of summer, at least 70% of eligible Granite Staters will be fully vaccinated.

"It's a hard question to answer in terms of when the COVID-19 outbreak in New Hampshire is going to be over," Sununu said. "But, certainly we've seen dramatic reductions in the levels of community transmission."

The state will not renew federal unemployment benefits this summer. A decision, the governor said was driven by dropping unemployment numbers.

"Nearly 5,700 people have stopped filing for benefits, taking advantage of the state's hiring frenzy and rejoining the workforce. That's about a 17% drop in unemployment claims in just the last few weeks."

>> MORE FROM WMUR: Some Exeter parents upset after numbers written on hands of unvaccinated prom seniors