On the same day that Menands was awarded federal funds to prevent overdose deaths, the executives for Rensselaer and Albany counties announced measures to help prevent prescription pills from being misused.

For the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area, the over-the-year change for nonfarm jobs was 18,600, an increase of 4.4 percent. In July 2020, pandemic restrictions were just beginning to be lifted.

“Even though our vaccines are currently working well to prevent hospitalizations, we are seeing concerning evidence of waning vaccine effectiveness over time and against the Delta variant,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky of the need for booster shots.

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

More than a quarter of the state’s health-care workers are not vaccinated against COVID-19, They will need to be vaccinated by Sept. 27, the governor announced today.

The “productivity target” for a commuter route, like Route 719, which had served Voorheesville and Altamont, is over 12 riders per hour, said Ross Farrell, director of planning for the Capital District Transportation Authority. Of 50 bus routes, Route 719 was in the bottom five, with just six or seven riders per hour, he said.

The researchers note this consistent pattern: “COVID-19 misperceptions and uncertainty seem to be linked to vaccination status.”

“The overall goals for the 2021-2022 school year are to keep students and staff healthy and safe, be responsive to student needs, and maximize in-person teaching and learning,” says the guide from the State Education Department.

National Grid is urging its Capital Region customers who need help paying their energy bill to apply now for federally funded assistance through The Home Energy Assistance Program and the Emergency HEAP program.

Astrid Marz, Duanesburg