HOPE & HEARTACHE
Albany County reports 2 more COVID-related deaths; first vaccines administered to Shaker Pointe residents
Monday marked another day of heartache but also hope in the struggle against COVID-19 in the Capital Region.
During his morning press brief, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy confirmed the deaths of two more county residents, a woman and a man, both in their 80’s. Those two victims brought the county death toll to 194 since tracking of the pandemic began in March.
Conversely, the first vaccinations were administered to residents of the Shaker Pointe Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Latham.
“It’s another sad day in Albany County as we report two new deaths overnight, and 11 total in just the last week. On top of that, we’re still at near-record levels of hospitalizations and ICU admissions, coming down slightly from 114 residents in the hospital yesterday,” McCoy stated on the two deaths. “However, it’s not all bad news.
“Today, we administered our first vaccines to residents at Shaker Place, marking the beginning of the end of COVID-19 in Albany County and the rest of the State. I’m looking forward to getting vaccines to all of our residents that want it in the weeks ahead, while also educating them and the rest of the public on the safety
and importance of the vaccine, which will ultimately save lives and turn the page on this pandemic.”
In a turn of good fortune, the County Executive noted employees at Shaker Pointe will also be able to take the vaccine.
“I have reported before our workers were not going to get the shots for some reason because we couldn’t get enough vaccines but they have delivered enough where we can get some of them done. We have roughly about 172 residents out at our nursing home, 150 have agreed to take the shots. The other 22 either have not or they have healthcare proxies and we have to get a hold of the people that can make that decision for them. We have roughly over 200 workers, out of that we’ve had 100 agree to take the shot, others ones are waiting to see if they want to take it or not,” McCoy remarked on the number of people becoming vaccinated.
“Which is good, again it shows we even have to educate our own workers and healthcare workers that are on the frontlines and we have to get everyone to understand that this is the way that we’re going to get out of it, by getting everyone the vaccine,” McCoy added on their need to continue educating the public on the importance of taking the vaccine.
McCoy also confirmed 221 new positive cases, 188 did not have a clear source of infection, 28 had close contact with positive cases and five are healthcare workers or residents of congregate settings. Presently, the county has 1,605 active cases and 3,197 people under mandatory quarantine.
The County Executive also noted he expects an update on area hospitals on a conference call which includes Dr. Ferdinand Venditti of Albany Medical Center.
McCoy confirmed 14 new hospitalizations reported overnight, and 113 total county residents currently hospitalized from the virus – a net decrease of one. Presently, there are 21 patients in the ICU, unchanged from Sunday.