ALBANY – Albany County officials are urging residents to continue to follow basic health precautions and avoid holiday gatherings despite the first COVID-19 vaccines arriving in the region on Monday.
Workers at the Albany Medical Center received the first doses of the region’s Pfizer vaccine Monday afternoon, but the drug manufacturer’s 975-dose batch only covers a tenth of the hospital’s workforce, who still need a second dose within 21 days has. It will be many months before vaccines make their way to the general public, Elizabeth Whalen, the county health commissioner, warned Tuesday.
“It is important for members of the public to know that this is not an imminent option for members of the (general) public,” she said. “It will probably take months for this to roll out … So that’s why, as we continue to see the numbers increase, it’s more important than ever that people continue the very important public health advice we’re giving to avoid big gatherings, crowds, and your masks keep wearing. “
Small-group in-home meetings are of particular interest to health officials, after contact tracing data released on Friday showed that the most recent COVID-19 spread in New York City comes from home social gatherings.
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“We know we peaked after Thanksgiving,” Whalen said. “We see that now. The concern that we keep trying to emphasize to the public is that we could have a wave of golf with the coming holidays. It really depends on the behavior of everyone in the province in which direction we go. . “
The warning came when county officials confirmed that two more Albany County residents have died as a result of complications from COVID-19. County Executive Dan McCoy said the victims were a man in her 60s and a woman in her 70s, bringing the county’s known death toll from the disease to 183.
“My prayers and thoughts go out to the families,” he said. “Unfortunately, this is the seventh day in a row that we have had to report the deaths of people in Albany County.”
The province has lost 14 residents to the corona virus in the past seven days. And the demographics of who die has gotten younger in recent months, likely due to increasing infections and hospitalizations among young people, officials say.
At the end of October, 50 to 74 year olds were responsible for 24.3 percent of all deaths in Albany County. Now they account for 28.4 percent, McCoy said. Those who are 75 and older are still responsible for the most deaths in the county, at nearly 70 percent.
Also on Monday, McCoy said the county has overnight confirmed 178 new cases of coronavirus among residents – the 16th day in a row that the county has seen daily caseloads in the triple digits. Only 22 of the new cases could be traced to a clear source of exposure, highlighting the stresses encountered by contact tracers when investigating spread.
Sixteen additional residents were hospitalized overnight with the virus. A total of 94 Albany County residents are now hospitalized with COVID-19, 15 in intensive care units. A record 3,317 people in the province were on mandatory quarantine lists as of Tuesday.
“As we enter the holiday time when people want to get together, when they want to get together, unfortunately, this year we have to do it differently,” Whalen said. “It involves a little bit of sacrifice, but that sacrifice could help prevent a loved one from getting sick and hospitalized. It could save lives.”
Rensselaer County reported 84 new cases and the deaths of an 82-year-old woman from Rensselaer and an 88-year-old woman living at the Eddy Heritage House in Troy. The dead are the 68th and 69th residents of the province who died of the virus. Schenectady County reported the death of a man in his 50s and 143 new positives.