Officials express frustration with vaccination guidelines
N.Y. » Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy confirmed a new COVID-19 attributed death during his Friday morning press briefing. The victim was a woman in her 80s.
That brought the county death toll to 338 since pandemic tracking began last March.
The county executive also noted 85 new positive coronavirus cases. Encompassed within the new cases were 20 who had 20 had close contact with positive cases, 60 who did not have present clear infection source, and five who are healthcare workers or residents of congregate settings.
There are 787 active cases in the county, and 1,805 people under mandatory quarantine. Conversely, 144 cases have been cleared for recovery and release.
On hospitalizations, McCoy reported there were nine new overnight. Currently, there are 91 county residents hospitalized from the virus. Plus, 17 patients are in the ICU.
During the press briefing, McCoy detailed the latest breakdown on how different demographics are being impacted by the virus.
“The impacts of COVID have been felt everywhere. Some have been hurt worse than others and some impacts have changed over time. What we’re seeing
in Albany County is a larger percentage of deaths among women now, when compared to the first wave in the spring,” McCoy stated.
“In May of last year, men accounted for about 53% of all deaths at the time, and women accounted for 47%. But now, men account for 45.7% of all deaths, and women account for 54.3%. This becomes even more troubling when you consider that surveys and polling show women are less likely to feel comfortable getting the vaccine when their turn comes,” McCoy explained.
Through the county COVID-19 Dashboard tool, McCoy demonstrated how infections are impacting certain age groups as well. While those in their 20’s continue to boast the highest number of total positives to date at 4,216, other age ranges have shown to experience greater increases in recent months.
Between Jan. 19 and Feb. 11, positives cases among 20- to 29-year-olds rose by 19.3%, for those between 10 and 19 years old infections increased by 21%, for people in their 40’s infections rose 22.4%, and for those in their 30’s positive cases increased by 22.6%.
On vaccinations, the county executive spoke to frustrations being felt by residents and again preached patience.
“It’s sad when we [have to] turn away 80-year-olds because we can’t do 65 and above because we have strict guidance from the [State] Department of Health and we can’t vary from that,” McCoy remarked on a recent mix up regarding a person who showed up at their POD but was erroneously granted an appointment that veered from the state guidelines.
“And I wish I could because there’s nothing sadder than to look at somebody and say yeah I’m glad you got this appointment but we can’t give you that shot or I can get a milliondollar fine or lose vaccine going into the future because that’s what’s pressured on us every week,” McCoy added on regarding the strict state guidelines.
Later in the briefing, the county executive additionally congratulated Albany County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen on receiving the Four Chaplains Award for her service throughout the pandemic.
McCoy noted that as Commissioner of the County Department of Health, Whalen has led a team of highly dedicated professionals who have served the community nonstop since this crisis started and made sacrifices, similar to those carried out historically by the Four Chaplains.
The county executive also reminded residents who want to check their eligibility for the vaccine and sign up for a shot at a state-run facility should use the state’s website or call the state vaccine hotline at 1-833-697-4829. For general information on the vaccine and eligibility, residents can also dial the United Way of the Greater Capital Region’s 2-1-1.
For those who would like additional information on vaccinations, or to pre-register for Albany County’s vaccination initiatives, visit the following link: https://alb.518c19.com/.