VACCINATION UPDATE
County to shift some appointments to Albany Capital Center next week
"In just the last four days, Albany County has been able to get an additional 3,519 total shots in arms through our clinics at the Times Union Center and with the help of our partners throughout the community." — Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy
ALBANY, N.Y. » Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy provided the latest update on the COVID-19 pandemic, during his Friday morning press brief. McCoy detailed the county’s vaccination efforts. Plus, the County Executive noted a change in venue for some second doses scheduled for next week.
Due to the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Regionals at the Times Union Center, some are being moved to the Albany Capital Center. Those with appointments on Thursday, March 25; Saturday, March 27; and Monday, March 29 will now be receiving their vaccination at the Capital Center at 55 Eagle St, Albany, NY 12207.
Digressing back to the current POD clinics, McCoy spoke to the progress being made on the vaccination front.
“In just the last four days, Albany County has been able to get an additional 3,519 total shots in arms through our clinics at the Times Union Center and with the help of our partners throughout the community,” McCoy stated.
“As we continue at this pace, with additional appointments now available at UAlbany and the Washington Avenue Armory, eventually we will need the State to expand eligibility to a larger portion of our essential workforce and those younger than 60 years old,” McCoy pressed on the need to make more people eligible for vaccination, so the county can reach herd immunity faster.
Albany County Department of Health Commissioner, Dr. Elizabeth Whalen also commented on the progress being made on vaccinations. Whalen emphasized the importance of becoming vaccinated and avoiding a third wave being seen in Europe with highly transmissible coronavirus variants.
“Certainly in terms of the vaccination, there is a lot of good news that we have been able to get out with our partners over almost 25,000 vaccines and we remain committed to that mission to get Albany County vaccinated,” Whalen remarked.
“This is the best strategy forward to get us back to some semblance of normalcy, which all of us have been really looking forward to for the past year,” Whalen added.
As of Friday, Albany County has administered or reallocated 24,325 first and second doses. The Times Union Center points of dispensing (POD’s) have provided for the bulk of vaccinations and are responsible for 17,455 first and second doses.
The most recent data reveals that 30.4% of the Albany County’s population has received their first dose, and 15.4% has received both doses. Thus far, more than 35,200 people have utilized the county’s pre-registration tool, including nearly 23,900 Albany County residents and 12,000 City of Albany residents.
In detailing data on cases, McCoy confirmed 65 new positive cases since Thursday.
Encompassed within the new cases were 47 who did not have a present clear source of infection, 14 who had close contact with other positive cases, two who reported traveling out of state and two who are healthcare workers or residents of congregate settings.
The county has 454 active cases in the county, down from 466 Thursday. The number of people under mandatory quarantine decreased to 1,353 from 1,393. Additionally, 71 cases were cleared for recovery and release.
The County Executive also noted five new hospitalizations overnight. Currently, there are 24 county residents hospitalized with five patients in the ICU.
Additionally during the press brief, McCoy implored the New York State Department of Health and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to relax indoor attendance restrictions on indoor sporting events. The County Executive commented that the capacity expansion is vital to having teams operate viably.
“The Governor announced [Thursday] that sports venues can reopen starting April 1, however indoor arenas would be limited to 10% capacity. Unfortunately, if we don’t increase that limit to at least 25%, arena football won’t be able to operate at a profit. That means the National Arena League season at the Times Union Center would have to be put on hold until next year, which would be extremely disappointing to the fans, and all of the workers employed by our arena,” McCoy added.