Unless otherwise necessary, Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday’s COVID-19 news conference would be his last.

The governor has changed his tone this week, telling people on Wednesday to get outside and enjoy their Memorial Day weekend, and telling reporters on Thursday that it would be his final COVID-related briefing, “at least for a while.” Lamont’s team was joined by Connecticut coronavirus news conference regulars including Department of Public Health acting Commissioner Deidre Gifford, businessperson and reopening adviser Indra Nooyi, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and epidemiologist Albert Ko.

Still, Lamont said Thursday, he didn’t want to make the same mistake George W. Bush did in 2003 with a “mission accomplished” banner claiming the Iraq War was over. He said the state would be maintaining its vigilance in monitoring COVID-19 metrics and possible variants.

The governor reflected on the pandemic and the state’s response, noting that Connecticut was hit hard early due to its proximity to New York.

“While we did take a hit, not nearly as severe as some of our peers,” he said. He identified outbreaks in nursing homes as a definite low point for the state.

On Thursday, Lamont was asked about squaring the state’s apparent — if temporary — success in slowing the virus in comparison to other states with the fact that Connecticut ranks 7th per capita in COVID-19 deaths.

“We were hit very hard very early before anybody knew anything,” Lamont said. “The surgeon general was up there saying masks transmit disease, and hydroxychloroquine was a miracle cure. We were making the best decisions with the limited information we had. You’ll see after that initial surge, we outperformed over the course of the next 10 months thanks to a lot of folks on this meeting today.”

Gottlieb and Ko both said that hospital treatment of the disease, as well as a lack of understanding of how the coronavirus spread, also contributed to Connecticut’s higher-than-average amount of deaths per capita.

Nooyi and other guests spoke to their experience with the state’s reopening process.

“It was dark days when Albert and I first met. It was very grim, the situation,” Nooyi said. “We both understood each other’s perspective. Anytime we have an issue, the science and the economics parts have to come together. Both sides have to learn each other’s discipline and understand their perspectives to craft the right outcome and the right solution for the state.”

Gottlieb and Ko both looked ahead to the future of the coronavirus in Connecticut and beyond.

“The risk is going to persist, obviously, but I think the summer is going to be relatively quiet. I think we’re going to have an enjoyable summer with very low infection levels,” Gottlieb said. “We may have to contemplate the virus again in the fall, more likely in the winter, but we’re going to be much better prepared to deal with that.”

While Ko and Gottlieb disagreed on when exactly booster shots will be necessary, their estimates were both within a year or a bit longer from when people were originally vaccinated. Both said it’s possible that boosters will be set up around a specific cohort, especially the elderly population. Gottlieb warned of the “twin risks” of COVID-19 and the flu circulating in the wintertime.

Just as Thursday’s news conference took a broader view of the pandemic, Lamont considered some of the most prominent long-term problems facing the state caused by the pandemic.

“From a health point of view, I do worry that some of our populations are undervaccinated. I think that’s a risk to them, a risk to their community and a risk to the broader community,” he said. “Economically, we still have some healing to do. And psychologically, we have some healing to do. There were a lot of folks who were hit terribly hard, isolated, alone, kids who have not been back into school for many a month, and that’s going to take a while.”

Updated COVID-19 statistics

The governor again congratulated 12- to 15-year-olds on how quickly they’ve been vaccinated after only a couple of weeks of eligibility — 31% have received at least their first shot. Those aged 65 or older have a 93% vaccination rate; people between 55 and 64 are at 83%; those age 45-54 are at 71%; those 35-44 years old are at 66%; the 25-34 age group is at 56%; those 18-24 are at 51%; and people 16-18 are at 58%. Lamont again expressed disappointment in the 18- to 24-year-old age group’s vaccination rate.

The governor also provided a breakdown of vaccination rates by race during Thursday’s news conference: 59% of whites have received at least their first dose of the vaccine, 58% of Asian/Pacific Islanders, 45% of American Indians/Alaskan Natives, 41% of Hispanics and 36% of Blacks.

Connecticut's latest COVID-19 statistics showed that on Thursday, 157 new cases were detected among 14,823 tests in the prior 24 hours, a positivity rate of 1.06%. Related hospitalizations increased by one to 123, while three additional deaths pushed the state’s toll since the pandemic began in March 2020 to 8,230.

New London County has had 22,446 total cases and 448 deaths. The county had nine people hospitalized with the disease on Thursday.

s.spinella@theday.com