Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy continued to push residents to get vaccinated as he announced 122 new cases of COVID-19 — the third day in a row with new cases in the triple digits. There are now 538 active cases in the county, up from 512 on Thursday.

“Our philosophy is based on families first,” said Jeffery Collett who recently purchased Fredendall Funeral Home in Altamont. “It’s not about what we want. It’s about what we can do to make this path easier to walk for grieving families.”

A third of parents with children between the ages of 5 and 11 say they will vaccinate their children right away, once the vaccine becomes available, according to a recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a not-for-profit focusing on health-care issues.

The infection rate in Albany County is five times higher now than it was a year ago, said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy. “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.”

Any legislative proposal to amend the Constitution of the State of New York must be passed in two successive legislative sessions; the amendment will then appear on the ballot, which must also pass. This year’s proposed amendments deal with elections, redistricting, the environment, and the courts. 

State Police have so far determined that two local children were victims, according to spokeswoman Trooper Kerra M. Burns. “He was known to his victims,” she told The Enterprise.

“We also continue to see the majority of those residents sent to the hospital with the virus haven’t gotten a shot,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy.

The state, led by Governor Kathy Hochul, continues to pursue requirements that health-care workers be vaccinated against COVID-19 while the State Senate Republicans, still opposed to the mandate, have proposed bills to incentivize health-care workers.

The state comptroller’s website is now featuring a COVID-19 Relief Program Tracker to monitor federal relief funds received during the pandemic and eight programs that offer targeted assistance to New Yorkers most severely impacted by the pandemic.

This week brought welcome news on travel bans being eased, and a court injunction allowing religious exemptions for health-care workers who were mandated to get vaccinated.