ALBANY – Capital Region officials are asking the public to keep an eye on county websites and social media pages for information on upcoming COVID-19 vaccination clinics, as more doses become available in the coming weeks.
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Albany County Health Commissioner, Dr. Elizabeth Whalen, said on Friday that the county was prepared to administer more vaccine this week than “in all previous combined weeks”. The municipality is receiving about 1,400 doses per week. This week, however, the county received more than 8,000 doses and was able to relocate some to neighboring Rensselaer and Schenectady counties.
“Please register … as we continue to promote more vaccines, (in) a few more weeks we will be begging people, begging people” to make appointments to be vaccinated, said Albany County executive Dan McCoy, on Friday.
Counties across the Capital Region have been able to schedule more vaccine clinics as supplies to the area have increased and are asking people to pre-register for the vaccine, if they have not already done so. Many counties now offer pre-registration options on their websites that alert the person by text or email when the vaccine is available.
“We maintain email lists of people interested in the vaccine,” said Rich Crist, director of operations for Rensselaer County. “I called many of these people today and received many types of ‘Nah, I was seen in Albany or my doctor’, so things are progressing.”
Vaccination rates remain low, but are improving across the region.
As of Thursday, 10.5 percent of people in the eight counties region had been fully vaccinated against coronavirus and 20 percent had received at least one dose, according to a Times Union analysis of data provided by the state. Experts said vaccination coverage rates of at least 70 percent will be needed to achieve collective immunity.
In a sign of increased supply, Albany County reported on Friday morning that there were vacancies for a vaccination clinic at the Times Union Center in Albany on Saturday, although its registration link had been posted the night before.
“Typically, when we launch a POD link, it fills up in about five to 10 minutes,” said Whalen. “We launched this link yesterday and we still have a lot of vacancies. Therefore, we hope that they will be filled and that, if we still have the capacity, we will be able to increase the reach of this clinic because we know the most important mission is to be able to distribute the vaccine and we are ready and prepared for that ”.
The county launched a registration link for the clinic designed to serve individuals aged 65 and over at 5 pm on Thursday. As of late Friday morning, more than 1,300 places were still available – a sign that seniors may still be struggling to navigate online scheduling systems or that supply is finally catching up with demand.
The county sent a text message on Friday afternoon to people who pre-registered for vaccines in an effort to fill vacancies. On Friday night, county spokeswoman Mary Rozak said the county had received approval to expand eligibility for the clinic also for people with certain health conditions.
“We had some openings and the goal is to shoot, so we got the approval to make that change,” she said.
Previously, the county was only authorized to vaccinate essential workers. In recent weeks, counties have received permission from the state to vaccinate people with underlying health problems as well. And last Friday, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said that county health departments could also start vaccinating the elderly. The different rules for different vaccine suppliers have been an obstacle for some wondering where to go to get the vaccine.
With the increase in supply, counties have intensified their efforts to reach marginalized and remote communities. On Friday, Albany County held a clinic in Hilltowns, in the township of Knox, and said it plans to administer the vaccine in Berne and Westerlo, too.
The county also directed 400 doses of the vaccine this week to the Watervliet Senior Center, 250 doses to Mohawk Ambulance to take the vaccine directly to elderly people living at home, 100 doses to the American Legion post in North Albany and 70 doses to the Church Metropolitan Baptist of Albany.
“This is not a one-size-fits-all operation,” said Whalen. “We need to have other ways to vaccinate people and, especially when we talk about high-risk communities, communities of color and isolated communities, we need to be able to get the vaccine to people so they can be vaccinated in place.”
Another death when coronavirus cases fall
Another resident of the Capital Region died of complications from COVID-19, officials announced on Friday. The victim was a man from Albany County in his 80s.
More than 1,000 people in the Capital Region have died of the disease since the pandemic began.
Confirmed cases and hospitalizations for the coronavirus continue to drop compared to mid-January highs.
On Thursday, the region had an average of 201 new cases of the virus a day – down from 220 the day before and a 1,009 rise in January. The percentage of people who test positive for the virus in the region continues to hover around 2%. On Thursday, the seven-day continuous positive rate was 1.9 percent. This figure has been at or close to 2 percent since mid-February.
Meanwhile, hospitals in the Capital Region reported treating 117 patients with coronavirus on Thursday, a small drop from 118 the previous day.