ALBANY COUNTY — “There is no place like home alone for the holidays,” said Steven Hanks, chief clinical officer at St. Peter’s Health Partners, making a plea for the public not to travel and not to gather to keep the coronavirus in check.

Hanks joined leaders from a half-dozen local hospitals at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to talk about the latest in the regional fight against COVID-19.

The hospitals, which are in daily contact, had agreed on Monday to reduce non-urgent surgeries that require a hospital stay, said Ferdinand Venditti, Albany Medical Center’s hospital general director.

The region on Tuesday had 417 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, with 70 of them under intensive care, he said; both numbers have been steadily increasing in recent weeks.

“If COVID continues to grow at the pace it’s growing … we will begin to cancel elective surgery,” Venditti said, which he said was identical to what hospitals did in the spring.

Hanks said that, while local hospitals are currently set with supplies and most can double their bed capacity, “What we’re worried about is our ability to staff those beds.”

David Liebers, infectious disease specialist and chief medical officer at Ellis Medicine in Schenectady, noted that, while the infection rate in the Capital Region had hovered around 1 percent all summer, since Nov. 1, it went from 2 percent to 7 or 8 percent, and even higher in Schenectady County.

“Our health-care workers, using appropriate PPE,” he said of personal protective equipment like masks, gloves, and gowns, “have been very well-protected” — calling it “extraordinary.” The problem, though, he said, is hospital health-care workers are getting sick at home.

Liebers cited state data that shows over 70 percent of COVID-19 transmission occurs at small in-home gatherings and urged people, over the holidays, “Use electronic media to gather with your loved ones.”

Vaccine

Albany Medical Center has been named one of 10 regional hubs for vaccine distribution and will serve the eight-county Capital Region.

Working with area hospitals since the start of the outbreak — Tuesday’s was the sixth press conference held by the hospital since April — Dennis McKenna stressed that the region’s hospitals are using “Preparation over panic, cooperation and collaboration over competition.”

McKenna is the president and chief executive officer of Albany Medical Center.

As a hub, McKenna said, Albany Med will come up with a vaccine-administration plan and is working with a 60-member task force that includes such varied constituencies as county health departments, chambers of commerce, first responders, elected officials, and faith-based communities.

“We will ensure the vaccine is distributed safely, equitably, and efficiently across the region,” McKenna said. “Our distribution plans will be broad and they will be inclusive with particular focus on our vulnerable, our underserved, and our at-risk populations.”

So far, Albany Med has vaccinated about 1,000 of its frontline staff, using a tiered approach.

“The vaccine is safe and the vaccine is effective,” said McKenna noting side effects are minimal and non-threatening. Fever, fatigue, and muscle aches, he said, are signs the vaccine is working.

He noted that the two vaccines currently being used in the state and regionally — one developed by Pfizer and BioNTech and the other developed by Moderna — were given emergency use authorization by the federal Food and Drug Administration and were also reviewed favorably by a New York State task force.

Clinical trials for each involved tens of thousands of people from various populations, McKenna said. Even people who have had COVID-19 and have antibodies should get vaccinated, he said. Everyone will eventually be given a shot and no one will pay, McKenna said.

The vaccination will not give you COVID-19, he stressed. “This is the beginning of the end of the pandemic,” he said. “When enough of us receive our vaccine in the region, we can resume life as we knew it.”

For more than 70 percent of the population to be vaccinated could take up to nine months and, in the meantime, people are to keep wearing masks, washing hands, and staying six feet from others.

“Our big fear …,” said Hanks, “is if people do not heed the counsel … we’re going to see test positive rates tick up again.”

Elizabeth Whalen, Albany County’s health commissioner who is serving on the regional task force, went over the tiered system by which vaccinations are being administered.

At the county’s press conference on Tuesday morning, Whalen explained that, currently, those classified as 1A are being vaccinated.

This includes hospital workers, nursing-home workers, first responders in medical roles such as emergency medical providers, medical examiners and coroners, funeral workers, and people living or working in long-term care facilities and long-term congregate settings overseen by various state agencies.

Peter Barber, Guilderland’s supervisor, wrote Tuesday in his daily email to update town residents on all things COVID, “The vaccine has arrived in our community with Town residents in nursing homes getting the first doses followed soon by EMS personnel. Town residents who work in healthcare and hospital settings are also receiving their initial doses.”

The next tier, 1B, Whalen said, includes other essential workers. Tier 1C includes adults with high-risk medical conditions and people over age 65, she said.

“We are currently in 1A,” said Whalen. “We are looking to national authorities to look to other vaccinations waiting in the wings. We hope the supply is going to continue.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo  said on Tuesday that so far 50,000 doses of vaccine have been administered throughout New York. The state has received 630,000 doses and expects to receive another 300,000 doses next week. New York State has more than 19 million residents.

Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations require two shots, 21 days apart.

Like the hospital doctors who spoke later on Tuesday, Whalen said that the single most important factor right now for controlling the disease is personal behavior. She stressed the importance of wearing masks and avoiding gatherings and travel. 

“Really, just celebrate with those in your immediate family,” said Whalen, noting her family was sacrificing its usual Christmas Eve gathering of extended family.

Newest numbers

Albany County broke more unwanted records on Tuesday.

The county executive, Daniel McCoy, announced the highest number of positive tests yet in a single day: 226.

This brings the county’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 9,500.

Of the new cases, 12 had close contact with someone infected with the disease, 209 did not have a clear source of infection identified at this time, and five are health-care workers or residents of congregate settings.

The five-day average for new daily positives increased to 201.2 from 200.4. There are now 1,571 active cases in the county, down from 1,605 on Monday.

The number of people under mandatory quarantine decreased to 2,990 from 3,197. So far, 32,151 county residents have completed quarantine. Of those, 7,929 had tested positive and recovered. That is an increase of 250 recoveries since yesterday.

There were 11 new hospitalizations reported overnight, and there are 107 county residents currently hospitalized from the virus — a net decrease of six

McCoy declared “another record” with 23 COVID-19 patients in intensive-care units.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing more people in the hospital, more people in the ICU,” he said.

The county’s COVID-19 death toll remains at 194.

Statewide, based on Monday’s test results, the infection rate was 5.46 percent. The positivity rate for the Capital Region, of which Albany County is a part, was 6.98 percent. The Mohawk Valley continues to have the highest rate at 8.54 percent while the Southern Tier continues to have the lowest rate at 2.48 percent.

The Capital Region, according to Tuesday’s press release from the governor’s office, currently has 362 people hospitalized with COVID-19, which represents 0.03 percent of the population and leaves 25 percent of beds vacant. Statewide, 0.03 percent of New Yorkers are hospitalized with the disease and 30 percent of hospital beds are available.

The Capital Region has a total of 212 ICU beds of which 176 are currently occupied, leaving 24 percent available. Statewide, New York has 31 percent of its ICU beds available.