ALBANY COUNTY — Since peaking at the start of September, the number of daily new COVID-19 cases this week continued to decline nationwide but in Albany County on Monday officials held their first press briefing since Sept. 3 to sound the alarm on increasing local rates of infection, hospitalization, and deaths as cold weather and the holiday season approach.

Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy reeled off a list of southern states, which have shown the sharpest decline because, with the largest percentage of unvaccinated residents, they had had the highest number of cases.

Currently, roughly two-thirds of Albany County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“The progress we’ve been making over the summer is fading,” said McCoy.

The infection rate in Albany County, he said, is five times higher now than it was a year ago.

“It’s alarming going into the winter season,” he said. McCoy said he was making a plea, reluctant to issue executive orders.

But, if numbers continue to rise, he said on Monday, “There’s measures I will take.”

On Tuesday, McCoy announced that two more residents had died of COVID-19 — a man in his seventies and a man in his nineties. That makes three deaths this week, bringing the county’s COVID-19 death toll to 423.

McCoy also reported that, of 35 percent of the county residents currently hospitalized, 74 percent are unvaccinated while 26 percent are fully vaccinated.

Between Oct. 17 and 23, McCoy reported, the county’s health department collected data on 552 new COVID-19 cases. Of those, 47 percent were vaccinated, 44 percent were unvaccinated, and 9 percent either refused to answer or their vaccination status was unknown.

The rate of residents getting vaccinated is slowing, McCoy said at Monday’s press conference, noting that last month 7,700 started the process compared to 4,050 this month.

At the same time, daily infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are increasing, McCoy said. Between Sept. 21 and Oct. 21, the county suffered 21 COVID-19 deaths, compared to 11 between Aug. 21 and Sept. 21, and just one the month before.

“The situation now compared to the end of the summer is much, much worse,” said McCoy. A month ago, he said, available hospital beds dropped to 18 percent and intensive-care units to 7 percent.

The vast majority of residents getting seriously ill and dying are unvaccinated, said McCoy. From Aug. 8 to Oct. 16, about 63 percent of hospitalized residents were unvaccinated while 35 percent were fully vaccinated and 2 percent had had one shot.

Also, McCoy noted that the county suffered 10 COVID-related deaths in all of September while there have been 15 deaths in just the first three weeks of October

Of the 25 deaths in September and so far in October, 72 percent were of unvaccinated residents while 24 percent were fully vaccinated, and 4 percent had had one shot.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID Data Tracker shows that unvaccinated people are 112 times more likely to die from the virus than fully vaccinated people.

Schools

Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen said on Monday that, in the last two weeks, 25 percent to 40 percent of new infections were among schoolchildren in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Children with symptoms have to test negative for the virus before they can return to school, and children who have come into contact with infected students must be quarantined.

Pediatricians, she said, are having a difficult time keeping up, given the number of kids excluded from schools. The county is working to spread tests to pediatricians and schools, Whalen said.

McCoy noted that parents are frustrated when their children must stay home since most schools are not offering the remote-learning options they had provided last year.

Hope is on the horizon in that Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization is anticipated in November for a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. A dose of 10 micrograms, one-third of the adult dose, was shown to be 90.7 percent effective in that age group, according to data submitted to the FDA by Pfizer; side effects were reported as mild.

On Tuesday, a panel of experts that advises the FDA voted to recommend authorizing the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, which would include about 28 million children in the United States. The FDA is expected to reach a decision shortly, which then has to be reviewed by the CDC.

A third of parents with children in this age group say they will vaccinate their children right away, according to a recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a not-for-profit focusing on health-care issues.

Whalen said on Monday that the county will hold in-school vaccination clinics and her department is also encouraging pediatricians to administer the shots because parents often feel more comfortable in their doctors’ offices.

She urged parents to get their children vaccinated noting that, once a child is fully vaccinated, he or she would not need to be quarantined after coming into contact with an ill child.

So far this school year, according to the state’s tracker, as of Tuesday night, Guilderland, with about 4,800 students, has had 76 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with the vast majority, 63, of students.

There were 17 cases at the high school, which includes district-wide workers like bus drivers as well; 12 at Farnsworth Middle School; 14 at Lynnwood Elementary; 12 at Westmere Elementary; 10 at Guilderland Elementary; 9 at Pine Bush Elementary; and 2 at Altamont Elementary School.

Voorheesville, with about 1,200 students, has had 16 confirmed cases — 13 of students — with 2 at the high school, 4 at the middle school, and 10 at the elementary school.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo, with about 780 students, has had 26 confirmed cases — 18 of students — with 13 at the elementary school and 13 at the secondary school.

While Albany County is not seeing high levels of children being hospitalized, Whalen said, unvaccinated people or vaccinated people with decreased immune responses are being hospitalized and dying.

“This is not just a matter of personal liberty,” Whalen said. “This is a matter of how we all behave; it affects the outcome of the person that you are with.”

Both McCoy and Whalen stressed the importance, as they have from the start of the pandemic 20 months ago, of hand-washing, mask-wearing, and social distancing.

For holiday get-togethers, Whalen said, all those gathering should be vaccinated and anyone who is symptomatic should get tested before seeing elderly relatives.

Albany County is labeled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as having a high rate of community transmission, triggering the requirement that anyone indoors in public, regardless of vaccination status, should wear a mask.

Boosters

Whalen noted that, over the weekend, the CDC released authorization for booster shots for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Those eligible for the booster shots include anyone who is 65 or older and anyone 18 or older who lives in a long-term care setting, has underlying medical conditions, or works in a high-risk setting.

While the FDA has approved a mix-or-match approach for boosters, New York State, Whalen said, is advising residents to use a booster shot made by the same manufacturer as the for the primary series.

She suggested residents review with their doctors which booster would be best for them and noted that residents who got the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine initially could use a messenger RNA vaccine — like Pfizer, approved earlier, or Moderna — for the second shot.

Those vaccinated initially with Pfizer or Moderna have to wait six months for a booster while those vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson have to wait two months, according to the CDC.

In releasing the new guidelines, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said, “The evidence shows that all three COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States are safe — as demonstrated by the over 400 million vaccine doses already given. And, they are all highly effective in reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death, even in the midst of the widely circulating Delta variant.”

An estimated 50 million Americans are now eligible for booster shots.

Poll: NY wary

On Thursday, Oct. 21, the Siena College Research Institute released a statewide poll showing that most New Yorkers are wary of COVID-19

Going through their days, 78 percent of New Yorkers think about protecting themselves and their family from getting COVID either some of the time (35 percent) or all of the time (43 percent), according to the poll.

New Yorkers are less optimistic now about the pandemic than they were four months ago. In June, 68 percent thought the worst of the pandemic was over while now half of New Yorkers say that they think the worst of the pandemic is over while 36 percent predict the worst is still to come.

Majorities now are at least somewhat or very comfortable going to the grocery store (91 percent), eating inside at a local restaurant (73 percent), going to work at the job they had prior to COVID (61 percent), going to a movie (57 percent), attending a professional sporting event (52 percent) and attending a Broadway show (51 percent).

Forty-one percent have had disagreements recently with family or friends over issues related to COVID, including vaccinations, masking or social distancing.

Nearly all New Yorkers, 91 percent, carry a mask with them whenever they leave their home and 77 percent, up from 73 percent in June, say they are vaccinated.

Eight percent say they plan to get the vaccine while 10 percent, down from 15 percent in June, don’t plan to get vaccinated.

Halloween guidance

The state’s Division of Consumer Protection and Department of Health on Monday jointly announced health recommendations for Halloween.

Wash hands with soap and water or use hand sanitizer before, during and after any Halloween activities, they advised, adding, “Consider carrying Halloween-themed or decorated hand sanitizer or leaving some out for your trick-or-treaters to use.”

Their advice went on, “If you’re hosting a Halloween event, keep the gathering small and outdoors.

“When giving out candy this Halloween, instead of having kids reach into a large candy bowl, consider making individual goodie bags and placing them on a table in your driveway or in front of your house.

“Trick or treat in small groups and avoid crowds. Do not pick candy out of a bowl or receive candy directly from someone’s hands. If there is crowding in front of a home, skip that house and find a safer option.

“Try to incorporate a cloth face mask into your costume. For children under 12 who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated, masks are still the best line of defense against COVID-19.”

State gains jobs

While unemployment rates are going down in New York State, they are not decreasing as fast as nationwide.

The number of private-sector jobs in New York State increased over the month by 14,800, or 0.2 percent, to 7,524,900 in September 2021, according to preliminnumbers released last Thursday by the state’s Department of Labor.

By comparison, the number of private sector jobs in the United States increased by 0.3 percent in September 2021.

The state’s private-sector jobs (not seasonally adjusted) increased by 266,200, or 3.7 percent, over the year in September 2021. By comparison, the number of private sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 4.7 percent over the year.

In September 2021, the statewide unemployment rate decreased from 7.4 percent in August to 7.1 percent.

New York City’s unemployment rate decreased over the month from 10.2 percent to 9.8 percent. Outside of New York City, the unemployment rate decreased from 5.3 percent to 5.1 percent.

The number of unemployed New Yorkers decreased over the month by 27,200, from 690,700 in August to 663,500 in September 2021.

The Albany-Schenectady-Troy area saw an increase of 8,400 jobs, or 1.9 percent.

From September 2020 to September of this year, the unemployment rate for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area went from 10.2 percent to 6.4 percent.

For September 2021, the rate of unemployment for Albany County was 4.0 percent while last September it was 5.8 percent, a decrease of 1.8 percent.

This September, Albany County had 149,500 employed residents compared to 147,00 last September, an increase of 1.7 percent.

The highest unemployment rate in the state for September 2021 was in the Bronx at 12.4 percent. The lowest is 3.2 percent in Yates County in western New York.

Newest numbers

On Wednesday morning, McCoy reported 106 new cases of COVID-19 in his daily release. There are now 489 active cases in the county, down from 498 on Tuesday. The number of people under mandatory quarantine dropped to 902 from 912.

There were eight new hospitalizations since Tuesday, and there are now a total of 34 county residents hospitalized with the coronavirus. Eight of those hospital patients are in intensive-care units, up from seven on Tuesday.

“The number of new hospitalizations overnight continues to be a concern along with the increase of new positive cases in the triple digits once again,” said McCoy in the release. “There is good news as our vaccination clinics will be providing the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson boosters starting today ... We know that the vaccination is the best protection against COVID-19 and in most cases, helps lessen the effects if someone contracts the virus.”

A free vaccination clinic will be held on Nov. 6 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School at 1793 Helderberg Trail in Berne. Pfizer and Moderna boosters will be administered as well as first or second doses of those vaccines. Johnson & Johnson single shots will also be given.