ALBANY COUNTY — For just the third time, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy on Wednesday released numbers on COVID-19 infections in vaccinated county residents.

Among the 25 county residents who were hospitalized with COVID as of Monday night, he said, 13 were unvaccinated and 12 were fully vaccinated.

Also on Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released reports that showed, while vaccination remains useful in preventing hospitalization and death, vaccine protection has faded in recent months.

One study posted by the CDC tracked vaccine effectiveness in New York, from May 3 to July 25 of this year. Protection against infection declined from 91.7 percent to 79.8 percent. During that same time period, protection against hospitalization remained relatively stable, from 91.9 percent to 95.3 percent.

“These findings support the implementation of multicomponent approach to controlling the pandemic, centered on vaccination, as well as other prevention strategies such as masking and physical distancing,” the report says.

It is not clear if people who suffer breakthrough infections, like the 12 hospitalized Albany County patients, can also suffer from what is known as long COVID — a condition that persits sometimes for months after the initial bout of infection.

“Many patients recover from COVID-19 within a few weeks, but some exhibit persistent or new symptoms more than four weeks after first being diagnosed. Patients with such post-COVID conditions are variously referred to as having long-haul COVID, long COVID or post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC),” says a study by the not-for-profit FAIR Health, which looked at almost two million insurance records of Americans who contracted COVID-19 in 2020.

Nearly a quarter of the patients, 23.2 percent, had at least one post-COVID symptom — a substantial share were of patients whose initial cases lacked symptoms.

The five most common post-COVID conditions across all ages, in order from most to least common, were pain, breathing difficulties, hyperlipidemia (high levels of fat particles in the blood, creating a risk of heart attack and stroke), malaise and fatigue, and hypertension. Anxiety and depression were among the most frequent mental-health conditions, the study found.

“Of COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized and discharged, 0.5 percent died 30 days or more after their initial diagnosis,” the study found.

A small study of antibody levels in 39 vaccinated Israeli health-care workers with breakthrough infections found almost 20 percent had symptoms that lasted more than six weeks. The study was published by The New England Journal of Medicine.

“We have said from the beginning that the vaccine would not be 100-percent effective, and the virus can still spread and get you sick even after getting the shot,” McCoy said in a statement, releasing the numbers on Wednesday.

He went on, “However, it’s important to note that COVID isn’t always the primary reason someone is sent to the hospital – especially for those with underlying health conditions — and thanks to the vaccine, the severity of these COVID illnesses have dramatically declined.” 

This point was echoed in a statement from Dennis McKenna, the president and chief executive officer of Albany Medical Center.

“The vaccine safely and effectively protects against COVID-19 and, in light of the Delta variant and rare breakthrough cases, limits the possibility of serious illness,” said McKenna. “Since the vaccine became widely available, the majority of Albany Med’s patients have been unvaccinated. However, COVID-positive inpatients who did receive the vaccine have tended to be less sick — and we believe that is proof that the vaccine is working.

“We have also seen patients stay for shorter periods of time. Some may receive care for a few days before they are no longer infectious or showing symptoms of illness and may return home. COVID-19 may also not be the primary reason for a patient’s hospitalization, but is rather a secondary condition.”

McKenna concluded, “Without a doubt, we are still in the middle of a pandemic.”

After the CDC released a report on July 30 about breakthrough infections at large public gatherings in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, The Enterprise asked the Albany County Executive’s Office if the county was tracking breakthrough infections here.

“As for number of positives that have been vaccinated, it is not a matter of just pressing a button,” responded spokeswoman Mary Rozak at the time. “Each case would have to be looked up in a separate vaccine database. Not to mention, those who were vaccinated outside the state or by a facility that didn’t enter the data into the state vaccine database would show as not being vaccinated. We will try to see what we can come up with.”

McCoy on Tuesday, Aug. 17, released some numbers on COVID-19 infections in vaccinated county residents.

Following national trends and research on the now-dominant Delta variant posted by the CDC, the Albany County numbers make it clear that vaccinated residents can contract the virus. In most cases, however, the infection is far less severe.

Among the 407 new cases identified in Albany County between Aug. 8 and 14, McCoy reported, 169 had received the vaccine and 203 had not — 35 couldn’t be verified.

So more than a third of the new cases were of vaccinated people.

“Those in their 20’s continue to be the biggest drivers of infections, accounting for more than a quarter of the total infections regardless of vaccination status analyzed in the past week,” said McCoy in his Tuesday press release.

On Aug 10, McCoy had released the first numbers detailing how vaccination status has affected infection rates.

Between Aug. 2 and 6, he said, 107 of the 260 county residents who tested positive for COVID-19 had been vaccinated while more than half — 142 — had not. Eleven didn’t have a known vaccination status.

Again, well over a third of the new cases were of vaccinated residents.

McCoy also said that the “vast majority” of the vaccinated cases were young adults: 31 were in their twenties and 19 were in their thirties.

“Six vaccinated infections were from the 10- to 19-year-old age range,” said McCoy. Vaccine is not authorized for anyone under age 12.

Pediatric hospitalizations surge

On Aug. 13, the CDC, in its weekly review, noted that COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to increase, especially in areas with higher levels of community transmission and lower vaccination coverage.

“Pediatric cases and hospitalizations have also increased in recent weeks,” the CDC said, noting that  rates of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations are lower in children of all ages compared to adults, but some children develop acute COVID-19 requiring hospitalization.

Also, some children who have had COVID-19 may later develop Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a rare but serious condition associated with COVID-19. As of July 30, the CDC has received reports of more than 4,400 children in the United States who have been diagnosed with COVID-19-associated MIS-C.

“Because children can be affected by COVID-19 and severe complications can occur, schools are encouraged to implement CDC’s updated Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K – 12 Schools to keep children safe. CDC’s updated guidance recommends that schools implement layered prevention strategies, including universal masking by all students ages 2 years and older, staff, teachers, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status,” the CDC states.

The CDC also recommends eligible students, parents, teachers, and staff get vaccinated as soon as possible. “Vaccination among eligible populations is critical to stopping the spread of COVID-19, especially to children under the age of 12 who are not yet eligible for vaccination,” the CDC says.

Health workers must vaccinate

All health-care workers in the state will have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 27, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday.

His press-release announcement  — Cuomo hasn’t held press events since announcing his resignation — said this directive applies to staff at hospitals and at long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, adult care, and other congregate care settings.

There will be limited exceptions for those with religious or medical reasons.

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration was briefed prior to the announcement, the release said. She will become governor next week.

So far, 75 percent of the state’s roughly 450,000 hospital workers, 74 percent of the state’s roughly 30,000 adult-care facility workers, and 68 percent of the state’s roughly 145,500 nursing home workers have completed their vaccine series, the release reported.

“New daily positives are up over 1000 percent over the last six weeks, and over 80 percent of recent positives in New York State are linked to the Delta variant ….,” Cuomo said in a statement. “I have strongly urged private businesses to implement vaccinated-only admission policies, and school districts to mandate vaccinations for teachers.

“Neither will occur without the state legally mandating the actions — private businesses will not enforce a vaccine mandate unless it’s the law, and local school districts will be hesitant to make these challenging decisions without legal direction.”

Since the state of emergency ended in June, Cuomo had left most directives up to individual municipalities, and the state’s health commissioner, Howard Zucker, announced school rules were up to local districts. Subsequently, the State Education Department issued non-binding guidance for schools.

On July 28, Cuomo had announced that state employees and patient-facing employees in state-run hospitals are required to get vaccinated for COVID-19 by Labor Day. State workers who choose to remain unvaccinated will be required to undergo weekly COVID testing.

On Aug. 2, he had announced that Metropolitan Transit Authority and Port Authority employees working in New York facilities will be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by Labor Day

Booster vaccine

Cuomo also announced on Monday that the state’s health department has authorized a third COVID-19 vaccine dose for New Yorkers with compromised immune systems, following the CDC’s recommendation last week.

Eligible New Yorkers can receive their third dose 28 days after the completion of their two-dose vaccine series, effective immediately.

The CDC is currently recommending that moderately to severely immunocompromised people receive an additional dose, including people who have:

— Been receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood;

— Received an organ transplant and are taking medications to suppress the immune system;

— Received a stem-cell transplant within the last two years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system;

— Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome);

— Advanced or untreated HIV infection; or

— Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids, cancer chemotherapy that causes severe immunosuppression, or other medications that may suppress immune response.

New Yorkers should contact their healthcare provider about whether getting an additional dose is appropriate for them at this time.

Newest numbers

Both Albany County and New York State continue to have a high rate of transmission, according to the CDC. As a seven-day average, the county had 124 cases per 100,000, and the state had 156 cases per 100,000 population.

Nationwide, only New Hampshire and Maine have a “substantial” rate of transmission with the rest of the country — overall at 271 cases per 100,000 population — at the “high” rate of transmission, the worst of four categories. Both “substantial” and “high” areas — anything over 50 cases per 100,000 population — require mask-wearing indoors in public.

The Capital Region remains the second worst of the state’s 10 regions with its infection rate, at 4.61 percent, as a seven-day average. The worst is Central New York at 4.71 percent.

Statewide, New York’s infection rate is 3.16 percent. New York City has the lowest rate at 2.62 percent.

Albany County’s infection rate, as of Tuesday, as a seven-day average, is 4.4 percent, according to the state’s dashboard.

On Wednesday morning, McCoy reported 65 new cases of COVID-19 with 395 active cases in the county, up from 371 on Tuesday. The number of Albany County residents under quarantine increased to 661 from 635.

There were four new hospitalizations since Tuesday, and 24 county residents are now hospitalized with the virus — a net decrease of one. There are now three patients in intensive-care units, up from two yesterday.

Albany County’s COVID-19 death toll remains at 388.

“In terms of severity, we’ve seen a steep decline in our death rate in Albany County. In the last two months, we’ve only had to report three new COVI- related deaths,” said McCoy in the release. “That compares to the previous two months when we reported a total of 15 deaths, and the two months before that when we reported a total 24. The vaccine works, and we continue to urge people to get the shot if they haven’t yet.”

As of Wednesday night, 68.1 percent of Albany County’s 307,117 residents had received at least one dose of vaccine, as had 78.9 percent of residents 18 and older, according to the state’s vaccine tracker.

Statewide, 65.5 percent of New Yorkers have received at least one shot and 58.5 percent have completed a vaccine series. For New Yorkers 18 and older, 77.8 have received one dose and 70.1 have completed a series.

Albany County is hosting pop-up vaccination clinics at the Altamont Fair through Aug. 22 from noon to 7:30 p.m. Another clinic will be held on Aug. 28, from 1 to 4 p.m., at the Medusa Fest at 28 Route 351 in Rensselaerville.