ALBANY COUNTY — This week, the county’s 138th of coping with COVID, new Omicron sublineages continued to gain ground regionally as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention labeled Albany County as having a high community level of COVID-19 for the fifth week in a row.

The week started, on Oct. 26, with the governor holding a press conference to alert the public to three different viruses — flu, COVID-19, and  respiratory syncytial virus — circulating statewide, all with the same symptoms.

Kathy Hochul urged New Yorkers to get a seasonal flu shot as well as the bivalent booster, designed to combat Omicron sublineals of COVID-19.

“We’re launching a public awareness campaign so parents know the symptoms, what to do and how they can keep their kids safe,” said Hochul of RSV. “And these are the symptoms: fever, cough, stuffy nose, decreased appetite.”

She stressed that RSV services for health care are fully covered by insurance companies, including testing and treatment.

“RSV is something we see every season,” said the state’s health commissioner, Mary Bassett, noting that this year and last year the season started earlier than usual.

Bassett told the press that, with more people indoors this time of year, and with more people socializing and fewer people wearing masks, a rise in viral infection was anticipated. COVID restrictions during the last two years had kept viral infection rates lower than usual.

“While we await a RSV vaccine,” said Bassett in a release from her department, “we have two straightforward messages for parents and guardians: make sure your child is up to date on their COVID-19 vaccination, and get a flu shot for children 6 months of age or older.

“Even if your child does get sick, the effects of immunizations have been shown to lessen illness severity. If you are concerned about your child, speak with a pediatrician or other health care professional. If your infant was born premature or otherwise fragile, you should seek medical advice early.”

As the week unfolded, local institutions added to the warnings.

On Oct. 28, the Guilderland superintendent of schools, Marie Wiles, sent an email to “GCSD Families” saying, “The capital region is experiencing a rise in cold and flu cases, which serves as a reminder to follow the health habits recommended by the Guilderland Central School District nurses. Measures such as hand washing, coughing and sneezing into a tissue, and staying home when not feeling well go far to prevent the spread of illness.”

Wiles pointed to the health services page on the district’s website, which outlines when it’s best for ill students to stay home.

That same day, Albany Medical Center sent out a press release, saying its children’s emergency center, like emergency rooms across the country, are “seeing a high volume of patients with various respiratory illnesses,” including RSV.

“RSV is a respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. It’s spread through droplets from a cough or sneeze, or by contact with a surface that has the virus on it,” said Debra Tristram, M.D. in the release.

“Common symptoms of RSV include runny nose, coughing, sneezing, fever, wheezing, and decrease in appetite and should not require emergency treatment,” Tristram said. “However, as with any respiratory illness, if your child is having difficulty breathing, or breathing rapidly or hard, or is having trouble eating or drinking, then it is best to seek further treatment.”

Doctors at Albany Medical Center say this season’s trend is unusual because they began seeing RSV cases in the summer and believe it could peak before the holidays, compared typically to January or February.

Similarly, flu season started earlier than usual this year.

Flu season usually runs from October through May, and typically peaks between December and February. This year, the state’s health department says, cases started being reported in higher-than-usual numbers in September, and cases of laboratory-confirmed flu are increasing week over week with prevalence in the New York City area, the Capital District, and Central New York.

The state’s health department is urging New Yorkers to get their annual flu vaccine as flu season is already widespread in the state, according to the department. The flu vaccine is recommended for almost everyone 6 months and older.

“With the early and aggressive spread of influenza, the annual flu shot is the most effective protection against serious illness,” said Health Commissioner Bassett in a statement on the department’s website. “The COVID-19 booster can also be administered at the same time as the flu shot to further protect your health and those around you.”

At Wednesday’s press conference, Hochul cited current hospitalization and death rates from COVID-19, greatly reduced from the original Omicron peak in January, and termed those rates “stable.”

However, she also said, “People are dying every day from COVID. It’s not over.”

She urged New Yorkers to get the bivalent booster shot, which she said was “specially tailored to variants out there now.”

The CDC is reporting that three Omicron sublineages — BQ.1, BQ.1.1, and BF.7, all descendants of BA.5 — are spreading.

While BA.5 now makes up not quite half of the cases nationwide — 49.6 percent — other sublineages are gaining ground with BQ.1 making up 14.0 percent of cases, BQ.1.1 making up 13.1 percent of cases, and BF.7 making up 7.5 percent of cases.

In Region 2 — New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands — the spread of the new sublineals is even more pronounced.

For the week between Oct. 23 and 29, BA.5 now makes up just roughly 36 percent of the cases while BQ.1 makes up roughly 24 percent, BQ.1.1 makes up 19 percent, BA.4.6 makes up roughly 8 percent and BF.7 makes up about 7 percent; the other sublineages each make up 3 percent or less.

BA.4.6 has decreased its share from 10.9 percent of cases regionally last week while the three new descendants of BA.5 — BQ.1, BQ.1.1, and BF.7 — have all gained ground.

The bivalent booster shot was designed to combat BA.4, which is now almost nonexistent, and BA.5 and so may still be effective against its similarly highly contagious descendants.

Hochul said the state had enough bivalent booster doses for 10 percent of eligible New Yorkers but only 7 percent have gotten those boosters. “What are you waiting for?” the governor asked.

Free COVID and flu shot clinics 

New Scotland is holding two clinics — on Nov. 9 and 10 — to give flu shots and COVID boosters. There is no charge.

Both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent boosters will be available. Anyone 5 or older is eligible for these shots two months after their last booster shot or two months after completing a vaccination series.

There is no income or age requirement to receive either the flu or COVID shots. People should bring their identification and health-insurance cards as well as their COVID vaccination card if they are getting the bivalent booster shot.

Minors must be accompanied by a parent.

People who want to get shots are to call Deb Engel at 518-439-9038 to schedule and complete paperwork.

The clinics will be held, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at the Wyman Osterhout Community Center, at 7 The Old Road, in New Salem and on Thursday, Nov. 10, at St. Matthew’s Social Hall at 25 Mountainview St., in Voorheesville.

Caring Wellness pharmacy will be administering the shots.

Albany County numbers

This week, the governor’s office reported three more Albany County residents had succumbed to the virus: Two COVID-related deaths were reported on Oct. 26 and one more on Oct. 31.

However, the county’s dashboard, as of Tuesday night, Nov. 1, still shows a death toll of 590: 286 males and 304 females.

As of Oct. 31, according to Albany County’s COVID dashboard, the seven-day average for hospitalized COVID patients was 32.71, down from 37.57 last week and 41.00 the week before but still up from 26.71 three weeks ago, 26.57 four weeks ago, 27.29 five weeks ago, 23.57 six weeks ago, and a huge increase from seven weeks ago when the county’s seven-day average for hospitalized residents was 15.14.

About 36.2 percent of the Capital Region residents hospitalized with COVID this week were not admitted because of having the virus, according to a chart from the governor’s office.

While Albany County is labeled by the CDC as having a “high” community level of COVID-19, partly based on hospitalization, it is one of only 2 percent of counties nationwide so designated. The majority of counties in the United States — 76 percent — are designated as having “low” community levels.

Twenty-two percent of counties nationwide, as are most of New York’s counties, are designated as having a “medium” level. Before being designated “high” five weeks ago, Albany County was labeled with a medium community level for 13 weeks. CDC guidance is to wear masks in public when the level is high.

Currently, six New York counties besides Albany are labeled “high” — Tioga, Broome, Franklin, Clinton, Essex, Rensselaer — while eight are labeled “low” — Tompkins, Cortland, Greene, Columbia, Sullivan, Orange, Bronz, and Kings — and the rest are “medium.”

Although figures on infection rates are no longer reliable since tracing and tracking systems have been disbanded, the state dashboard shows that cases statewide and in Albany County are leveling off after two months of climbing.

Albany County, as a seven-day average, now has 16.3 cases per 100,000 of population, down from 17.1 last week,  21.0 two weeks ago, 21.1 three weeks ago, 19.1 four weeks ago, 19.7 five weeks ago, 17.1 six weeks ago, the same as 16.3 seven weeks ago, but down from 17.0 eight weeks ago, 17.3 nine weeks ago, 17.9 ten weeks ago, 19.3 eleven weeks ago, and 21.8 cases per 100,000 twelve weeks ago.

This compares with 20.1 cases per 100,000 statewide, which is up from 18.9 last week, but down from 20.3 two weeks ago, while up from 19.9 cases three weeks ago, but down from 21.4 four weeks ago, 23.4 cases five weeks ago, 22.2 six weeks ago, 18.6 cases seven weeks ago, 21.1 cases eight weeks ago, 23.0 nine weeks ago, 25.6 ten weeks ago, and 30.03 per 100,000 of population 11 weeks ago.

The lowest rates are still in the Finger Lakes at 13.28 cases, down from last week’s 14.06 cases per 100,000 population. The highest count is now on Long Island at 23.94, up from New York City’s high last week of 20.00 cases per 100,000.

The numbers for vaccination in Albany County have hardly budged for several months.

As of Tuesday, 61.6 percent of eligible residents had received booster shots, according to the state’s dashboard, the same as last week. At the same time, 75.4 percent of county residents had completed a vaccination series, also the same as last week.

This compares with 79.6 percent of New Yorkers statewide completing a vaccination series, up slightly from last week’s 79.4 percent, 79.3 two weeks ago, and 79.1 percent three weeks ago.

New Yorkers are being encouraged by the state’s health department to get bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for anyone age 5 or older and from Moderna for those 6 or older.

To schedule an appointment for a booster, New Yorkers are to contact their local pharmacy, county health department, or healthcare provider; visit vaccines.gov; text their ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find nearby locations.

Wall Street profits at pre-pandemic levels

Wall Street’s pandemic boom came to an end in 2022 with profits down over 50 percent from the same period last year, according to State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s annual report on New York City’s securities industry.

Challenging market conditions continue and profits for the remainder of the year may see further declines along with bonuses, which are estimated to fall 22 percent or more from their record highs of 2021.

After two years of near-record performance, industry profitability appears to be returning closer to the 10-year pre-pandemic average of $20.3 billion, the report says; profits for the first half of the year are down 56.3 percent.

“The last two years of profits and bonuses fueled in part by the extraordinary federal response to the pandemic were not sustainable,” DiNapoli said in a statement, releasing the report. “The securities sector was a buffer for State and City revenues during the pandemic.

“As the sector slows down in 2022, leading firms are reviewing staffing and office space needs and a prolonged downturn could negatively impact State and City coffers. Continued support for other sectors that have been slow to recover is needed to speed recovery to their pre-pandemic levels and to help offset the decline in Wall Street-related tax revenues.”

The report also said that New York City, once home to one-third of all industry jobs, now has 17.6 percent of them. Its share of national firms has fallen from 6.4 percent in 2001 to 4.4 percent in 2021. Sector employment is 9.8 percent lower than 2000, which was the peak for securities employment in the city.

The chief executive officers of S&P 500 finance companies based in New York state earned on average 261 times more than the median for all employees in their companies, much higher than the national average of 198 times higher, the comptroller’s report said.

Almost two-thirds — 63 percent — of industry employees were white, 20 percent were Asian American, 8 percent were Hispanic, and 6 percent were African American. Immigrants (primarily from Asia and Europe) made up almost one-third — 32 percent — of the employees, lower than the immigrant share of all city employees at 41 percent.

In 2020, one in 11 jobs, nearly 9 percent, in New York City was associated with the securities industry, a drop from one in nine in 2019. The decline likely occurred, the report said, because there were fewer workers in the office to patronize restaurants, retail stores, and arts and recreation events.

Sales-tax collections up

Statewide, local government sales tax collections grew by 10.2 percent in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year, mostly driven by double digit growth in New York City, according to a report released by DiNapoli.

Total sales tax collections reached nearly $5.7 billion, an increase of $529 million, marking the second straight quarter that year-over-year growth did not keep pace with inflation for counties and cities outside of New York City.

Overall collections in the July-September period experienced double-digit growth for the sixth straight quarter, which is extremely strong compared with the average pre-pandemic growth rate of 4.3 percent, the report said.

One of the factors underlying this growth is high inflation, which increases the cost of purchases made and, therefore, the taxes collected on those purchases.

However, the third quarter’s 8.3-percent inflation rate had a negative impact on local governments as well, reducing the amount that they can purchase with the same dollars.

Adjusting for inflation, year-over-year growth in the value of sales tax revenue for July-September was about 1.8 percent.

For Albany County, the report shows that in the third quarter — July, August, and September — total sales tax revenues, year over year, went up 4.9 percent from $83.7 million in 2021 to $87.8 million this year.

Breaking that down for each month for Albany County:

— From July 2021 to July 2022, sales-tax revenues went up 8.4 percent from $24.7 million to $26.8 million;

— From August 2021 to August 2022, sales-tax collections went down 4.0 percent from $24.3 percent to 23.3 percent; and

— From September 2021 to September 2022, sales-tax revenues went up 8.6 percent from 34.7 million to 37.7 million.