ALBANY COUNTY — On Wednesday, the county launched its own online sign-up for COVID-19 vaccines, for essential workers only.

“Today, we will be launching our link for the clinic tomorrow,” said the county’s health commissioner, Elizabeth Whalen, on Wednesday morning.

She also said, “The message at this point is still: People need to be patient.”

“We can’t control it when it becomes kind of like The Hunger Games. Who can get their appointment quick enough? Who’s savvy enough with the computer? … We’re going to simplify it. We need to get more Black and brown community members signed up,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy last Friday.

The county’s health department administered 800 vaccinations at its most recent point of dispensing, or POD, held at the Times Union Center in Albany, which McCoy called “a huge success.”

He went on, “Our future PODs are going to be controlled by us … We need to get vaccine into the arms of people that need them.” The county is expecting another 800 doses this week.

So far, Albany County’s POD has administered only first doses but is scheduled to give some second doses at its Feb. 4 clinic.

McCoy stressed on Friday that he does not use his position to secure vaccinations for family members.

“My brother is in the hospital with COVID-19,” he said. “If I got him that shot two weeks ago would he be there?”

On Wednesday, McCoy said, “People that are butting the line and not waiting their turn are being selfish.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo explained on Friday the state’s distribution system: “You have three groups, basically. You have health-care workers; you have essential workers, police, fire, teachers, public safety, food workers. And you have 65-plus. Three separate groups. We want to be fair in the allocation.”

Consequently, the state is distributing doses according to the population of each of those three groups:

— Health-care workers are about 21 percent of the eligible population so the state distributes 21 percent of that region’s allocation to health-care workers;

— Essential workers are about 27 percent, so the state distributes 27 percent of that region’s allocation to essential workers; and

— Sixty-five-plus are more than half, 52 percent, so the state distributes 52 percent of that region’s allocation to the providers who serve people aged 65 and older.

“No one is happy, everybody wants more,” Cuomo concluded.

Health-care workers are to be vaccinated in hospitals, essential workers are to be vaccinated by city and county health departments or through unions, and people 65 or older are to be vaccinated by pharmacies and mass sites run by the state.

“It’s important that the provider follows the prioritization, because otherwise they’re giving that group’s allocation to someone else,” said Cuomo.

He also said, “We still have not received enough supply just to do 1a and 1b” and he criticized the Trump administration for opening the floodgates with the 65-plus group.

“Now you have a period of confusion and anxiety because you’re trying to get 7 million people with 250,000 a week. That would take seven months,” said Cuomo.

On Tuesday, an announcement by President Joe Biden made it likely New York, like other states, will be getting more vaccine doses — but still far short of demand.

The federal government will be purchasing 200 million more doses, Biden announced; with the added doses, by the end of the summer, he said, there would be enough vaccines to inoculate 300 million Americans, nearly the entire population.

Half of those new doses will be purchased from Moderna and half from Pfizer and BioNTech, increasing the nation’s supply to 600 million. Each of those vaccines requires two shots.

Cuomo, who leads the National Governors Association, had a call on Tuesday with Jeff Zients, who heads the nation’s COVID-19 Task Force; Rochelle Walensky, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and General Gustave Perna, the chief operation officer of Operation Warp Speed.

States have been in charge of vaccinating their residents as the federal government has distributed vaccine based on population.

The allocation will go up 16 percent and states can count on that allocation for the next three weeks, Cuomo said. “We’ve been going week to week and you really can’t plan and schedule when you don’t know what you’re going to get next week.”

He also said, on the call with Zients, the governors had questions about how much federal aid will be provided in the distribution through agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency and how states can use the National Guard.

Cuomo said at his press conference on Wednesday that, through FEMA, New York State will get in advance about $450 million to perform vaccines. “They’re going to advance us eht money rather than reimburse, which is helpful,” he said.

Also, the federal government is going to pay the cost to states for using the National Guard to assist with vaccination, Cuomo said.

Statewide, 77 percent of New York’s 1.87 million doses of vaccine have been administered, according to a release from the governor’s office on Wednesday.

The Capital Region, of which Albany County is a part, has administered 81 percent of the 117,640 doses it has received.

At his press briefing on Wednesday, Cuomo said that all nursing home residents have now been offered vaccine, as part of a separate federal plan, and 72 percent have been vaccinated.

“Some people don’t want to receive the vaccine,” he said.

The staff at nursing homes are being  vaccinated, one-third at a time, and 44 percent have been fascinated. “They’ll all be finished or offered by February 7,” he said.

Changes urged on vaccine distribution

On Monday, two different groups wrote to Cuomo, urging change on vaccine distribution.

The Retired Public Employees Association, representing nearly 500,000 retirees and their beneficiaries, called for a more efficient and effective system for applying for COVID-19 vaccine appointments and recommended a one-stop online system.

The letter from Diana Hincliff, president of the association, says, “The vast majority of our members are over 65 and a large percentage are over 75. Many have underlying health conditions that put them at high risk for contracting the COVID-19 virus and, in fact, some have. It is imperative that they be able to be vaccinated as soon as possible. New York needs a new vaccine distribution system.”

Hinchcliff also writes, “We understand that many more vaccination sites will be opened. However, if applicants have to visit each site individually and if appointments are allotted on a first come, first served basis, people will have no better luck with these than with the state facilities.”

Also on Monday, four Capital Region lawmakers wrote to Cuomo, urging him to re-prioritize disbursement of the vaccine to health-care workers, essential and emergency management workers, and vulnerable populations like those living with developmental disabilities — all of them part of the state’s 1a tier.

The letter responds to a Jan. 23 executive order that outlines the percentages to go to health workers, essential workers, and people over 65 based on the size of those groups.

“This new executive order declares that ‘proportional’ is ‘fair,’ yet it is not fair to our front line health-care workers, emergency workers, and our most vulnerable New Yorkers to bear a proportional burden in this pandemic. We cannot call health care workers heroes one day and then deny them priority access to vaccination the next,” write Senator Neil Breslin and Assembly members Patricia Fahy, John McDonald, and Carrie Woerner — all Democrats.

The local lawmakers favor the original regional hub model in which people in tier 1a — including people with disabilities in group homes as well as high-risk health-care workers and funeral workers — were to be vaccinated first.

“Most importantly, the regional hubs are working with individuals and organizations closest to the people and they are best positioned to accomplish our mutual goal,” write the lawmakers. “They need the vaccine allocations to complete this mission, however, the executive order ensures that more than 75% of the very limited vaccine supply will go to lower priority individuals of 65 and older who may be far less vulnerable.”

The state changed course to follow federal guidance in adding people 65 and older after which Cuomo has frequently complained that over 7 million New Yorkers are now eligible for vaccination although the supply has been several-hundred-thousand doses a week.

Unemployment

The state’s Department of Labor this week announced the fifth straight month of declining unemployment rates in New York.

The unemployment rate fell to 8.2 percent in December, decreasing from 8.4 percent in November 2020. The number of unemployed New Yorkers decreased by 20,200 from 764,500.

A year ago, the December unemployment rate in New York State was 3.9 percent and the rate outside the city was higher than in the city. The Albany, Schenectady, and Troy area lost 9.5 percent of its non-farm jobs from December 2019 to December 2020, which amounted to about 46,000 jobs.

In December 2020, the rate of unemployment in New York City was far greater, at 11.4 percent, than in the rest of the state, at 5.9 percent. The decrease in the city from November to December, from 12.1 to 11.4  percent, is what brought the state average down.

The rest of the state actually had an increase in unemployment from 5.7 in November to 5.9 in December.

The biggest loss of jobs continues to be in leisure and hospitality.

Meanwhile, the United States unemployment rate held steady at 6.7 percent.

Enrollment period extended

Cuomo this week announced the open enrollment period for uninsured New Yorkers will be extended through March 31. New Yorkers can apply through the state’s Marketplace, called NY State of Health, or directly through insurers.

People who are eligible for other NY State of Health programs — Medicaid, Essential Plan, and Child Health Plus — can enroll year-round. New Yorkers can apply for coverage through NY State of Health online at nystateofhealth.ny.gov or by phone at 1-855-355-5777. 

Drug price spikes

The state’s Department of Financial Services is investigating “significant price spikes” for six drugs that were connected to the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring statements from the manufacturers explaining the facts and circumstances surrounding the spikes.

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen too many instances of pharmaceutical companies taking advantage of those in need and significantly raising the prices on life-saving prescription drugs,” Cuomo said in a statement, announcing the investigation.

Of the six drugs, the one with the biggest price spike — over 1350 percent — was Budesonide, a generic formulation of a corticosteroid produced by CiplUSA Inc., which, the release says, hiked its price “in the midst of the first wave of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and on the heels of an announcement of international clinical trials for its use to treat COVID-19 patients.”

Each of the manufacturers now has to provide information about and a justification for each spike. The Office of Pharmacy Benefits is authorized to collect additional information, including by examining witnesses or issuing subpoenas.

If it is determined that a valid reason for the spike exists, the Department of Financial Services will announce that development as well, and close the investigation. For more information or to report a drug price spike, New Yorkers may visit the DFS website.  Any questions may be addressed to Eamon Rock, director of the Office of Pharmacy Benefits, at DrugPriceSpikes@dfs.ny.gov.

Newest numbers

From last Thursday, Jan. 21, through Wednesday, Jan. 27, McCoy announced the deaths of 19 Albany county residents from COVID-19. He announced three of those deaths Wednesday morning: a man in his seventies, a woman in her eighties, and a man in his nineties.

The county’s death toll now stands at 302.

Since the start of the pandemic in Albany County, in March, 30 percent of all deaths — 91 — have been of people aged between 50 and 74, McCoy said. Sixty-eight percent of the deaths — 207 —  have been of people aged 75 and older, he said.

As of Wednesday morning, Albany County has had 17,637 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 192 new cases since Tuesday.

Of the new cases, 111 did not have a clear source of infection identified, 67 had close contact with someone infected with the disease, and 14 are health-care workers or residents of congregate settings.

The five-day average for new daily positives has decreased to 187 from 199.6. There are now 1,587 active cases in the county, down from 1,636 Tuesday.

The number of Albany County residents under mandatory quarantine increased to 2,742 from 2,504. So far, 52,513 residents have completed quarantine. Of those, 16,050 had tested positive and recovered. That is an increase of 234 recoveries since Tuesday.

There were seven new hospitalizations overnight, and there are 163 county residents currently hospitalized from the virus — a net decrease of six. There are 16 patients now in intensive-care units, unchanged from Tuesday.

The Capital Region is tied with the Mohawk Valley for the worst rate of available hospital beds, at 24 percent. Currently, 474 Capital Region residents are hospitalized with the virus, which is 0.04 percent of the region’s population.

Statewide, 0.04 percent of New Yorkers are hospitalized with COVID-19, leaving 32 percent of hospital beds available.

Although the percentage of ICU beds available in the Capital Region increased from 19 percent to 20 percent, the region still has the worst rate. Currently 203 of the Capital Region’s 262 ICU beds are filled.

Statewide, 26 percent of ICU beds are available.

Cuomo said Wednesday that all 10 of the state regions had their positivity rates declining from the holiday surge. The Capital Region on Tuesday, as a seven-day average, had an infection rate of 6.16 percent.

Statewide, the positivity rate is 5.64 percent.

Albany County, as of Tuesday, as a seven-day rolling average, had an infection rate of 7.0 percent, according to the state’s dashboard. The daily rate for Tuesday was 7.4 percent.