County records death on 7th day in a row

Since Oct. 1, seven victims were not vaccinated, one was

Coronavirus is being blamed for killing an Albany County resident for the seventh straight day — and data shared by the county shows that the vast majority of people to recently die after contracting the virus were unvaccinated.

The virus caused the deaths of 18 residents between Sept. 1 and Wednesday, according to data collected by the county.

In September, seven nonvaccinated people died, two fully vaccinated people died and one partially vaccinated person died.

Since Oct. 1, seven victims were not vaccinated, and one was.

That data, released as the county as much of the nation continues to confront a monthslong surge in cases prompted by the potent delta variant, follows studies that show vaccines tend to protect vaccinated people from the worst coronavirus symptoms.

Locally, of the 39 residents hospitalized by the virus on Tuesday, 62 percent were unvaccinated while 38 percent were. Similar information was not immediately available for Wednesday’s data.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccinated people are far less likely to die or be hospitalized if they get coronavirus. But specific information about the rates of infections and deaths among the vaccinated and unvaccinated in New York has not been easy to come by. County leaders over the summer complained about how the lack of clear data on how many vaccinated people are being hospitalized and killed here limited how they planned their response to surges in cases.

Since Tuesday, 89 new coronavirus cases were recorded in the county.

There are now 477 actives cases, an increase of seven from the day before. Over the last seven days, 3.4 percent of coronavirus tests have returned positive results.

The latest victim of the virus was a person in their 90s. On Wednesday, the county could not immediately say if the person was vaccinated or had preexisting medical conditions.

The majority of Albany County residents — 72 percent — have gotten at least the first dose of the vaccine. But county officials say the pace of vaccination is dropping.

“Over the last week, there were only 845 additional county residents who got at least the first dose, compared to the last week of September when 1,209 individuals went and got the shot,” County Executive Dan Mccoy said.

The county is prepared to deliver vaccinations to people who are homebound.

The county plans several clinics in the coming weeks. More information is at https:// www.albanycounty.com/departments/health/coronavirus-covid-19