Holiday gatherings, travel have some impact on virus numbers By LISA RATHKEJanuary 8, 2021 GMT Vermont ranks second in the nation in the pace of receiving and administering COVID-19 vaccines per 100,000 people, Human Services Agency Secretary Mike Smith said Friday. As of Thursday night, 21,000 Vermonters had been vaccinated, he said during the state’s biweekly briefing on the coronavirus. “However we need to keep accelerating our pace of vaccinations, even as supplies remain uneven and often disappointing,” Smith said. The state has now included about 4,500 first responders — such as police and firefighters — among the first group to receive the vaccine, he said.