State boosts Ulster vaccine allotment
Number of doses expected this week jumps to 3,140; Dutchess steps up outreach; Vassar Bros. OKs visitors
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Ulster County has been allocated an additional 1,170 doses of COVID-19 vaccine for this week by the state, bringing the total to more than 3,000, a county official said Wednesday.
The extra doses for the county health department are on top of the allotment of 1,970 for this week that was announced Tuesday, according to Assistant Deputy County Executive Daniel Torres.
The new total of 3,140, though, still is less than half of last week’s allotment of 7,040, the county’s largest since the vaccination effort began in January.
Torres said Tuesday that last week’s total included a one-time large allotment aimed at getting more senior citizens vaccinated. He also said one of the private phar
macists in the county who previously received a large share of the doses is taking a break this week.
Nevertheless, the smaller outlay from the state comes as vaccination eligibility is expanding. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that anyone in New York who is 60 or older can be vaccinated. The cutoff age had been 65.
Torres noted Tuesday that demand for vaccines at sites run by and in cooperation with Ulster County could shift once the state opens a vaccination center at the Ulster County Fairgrounds in New Paltz. The creation of that center and nine others across the state was announced Monday, but there was no immediate word about when they will open. Details are expected in the coming days.
County Executive Pat Ryan, who has been pressing the state for weeks to open a vaccination site in Ulster County, called the New Paltz plan “a big win for our residents.”
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Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro announced Wednesday that the county’s Vaccine Outreach Coalition held its organizational meeting Tuesday
Molinaro said the group plans to help disseminate information so the public knows about the importance of being vaccinated against COVID and how the distribution system works, and to ensure equitable vaccine distribution.
“We have assembled an excellent group of community organizers, health officials and others to reach out to people about this essential issue,” Molinaro said in a statement. “As the vaccine becomes more widely available in the weeks and months ahead, this group will make a significant difference.”
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Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie resumed limited visitation for inpatients.
Inpatients without suspected or confirmed COVID-19 are allowed one support person per day for up to four hours between 2 and 6 p.m. A visitor must remain in the patient’s room for the entire visit and follow the hospital’s personal protective equipment guidelines.
Visitation remains banned in the emergency department and for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, unless the patient is under age 21, a maternity patient or if extenuating circumstances apply.
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State Sen. Michelle Hinchey and Assemblyman Kevin Cahill issued statements Wednesday lauding the planned state-run COVID vaccination site at the Ulster County Fairgrounds in New Paltz.
“Hudson Valley residents have been forced to travel long distances to access the vaccine at state-run sites, keeping our communities at grave risk and posing a major hardship for all, especially our seniors,” said Hinchey, D-Saugerties. “This is why we have been fighting so hard to forge stronger statecounty partnerships so that we can establish closer, more accessible mass-vaccination facilities .... ”
Cahill, D-Kingston, said the New Paltz facility “will expand access to inoculations for residents of the central and southern parts of Ulster County that will ultimately help save lives and reduce pressure on other resources.”
The New Paltz facility is one of 10 being newly opened by the state. The start-up dates have not yet been announced.
Nursing homes
New York state on Wednesday reported a COVID-related death of a resident of the Golden Hill Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Kingston. The death occurred outside the facility, the state said.
By the numbers
Ulster County reported Wednesday that 57 county residents have been newly diagnosed with COVID-19 but that the number of active cases fell by one, to 1,582. The offsetting factor was the addition of 58 recoveries.
The 57 new cases were out of the most recent 1,057 test results received by the county, a rate of 5.4%.
Ulster County has had 11,403 confirmed cases of COVID since the local outbreak began last March, 9,585 recoveries and 236 COVID-related deaths.
Dutchess County reported Wednesday that it had 1,195 active cases of COVID, up from the 1,022 reported Tuesday. The county also reported one additional COVID-related death, bringing the total since last spring of 415.
Dutchess had had 23,184 confirmed cases of COVID since last March and 21,574 recoveries.
Dutchess’ most recent seven-day average of positive test results was 4.1%.
In the schools
Newly reported cases of COVID-19 in area school districts are as follows, according to New York state.
• Kingston: Two on-site students at Kingston High School.
• Highland: One onsite elementary school student and three on-site high schoolers.
• Marlboro: One on-site middle school student and one off-site middle school staffer.
For local coverage related to the coronavirus, go to bit.ly/DFCOVID19.