ALBANY COUNTY — The empty Lord & Taylor store at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland will, starting Friday, become the state site for mass COVID-19 vaccination, formerly housed in tents at the University at Albany.

People with existing appointments at the former UAlbany site will receive an email or text with information about the move, according to a release from the governor’s office. All existing appointment dates and times will stay the same.

So far, the UAlbany site has administered more than 150,000 shots since opening in January, with a capacity of approximately 2,000 shots per day. The new location at Crossgates has the ability to administer up to three times the number of doses since it is larger.

Also, since it is fully indoors, the site won’t need to shut down in wind and rain storms.

The COVID-19 drive-through testing facility at SUNY Albany is unaffected by this move and will remain in place.

“Our mass vaccination sites have enabled us to make significant progress in getting shots into people’s arms, and in order to expand our capacity and maximize our efficiency, we are relocating the SUNY Albany vaccination site to the Crossgates Mall,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said in the release.

“SUNY Albany has been an invaluable partner for us as we work around the clock to get New Yorkers vaccinated as quickly as possible. I remind Albany area residents that our fight with COVID is still far from over,” Cuomo went on. “The vaccine works, but only if we all take it, and so I urge everyone who has yet to make an appointment to do so, and return for their second dose as needed.”

Newest numbers

Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy announced in a release on Tuesday morning that the county has 47 new COVID-19 cases, bringing its tally to 23,056.

Of the new cases, 31 did not have clear sources of infection identified, 14 had close contact with someone infected with the disease, and two reported traveling out of state.

The five-day average for new daily positives has decreased to 58.2 from 61.8. There are now 491 active cases in the county, down from 520 on Monday.

The number of Albany County residents under quarantine decreased to 1,073 from 1,080. So far, 74,039 residents have completed quarantine. Of those, 22,565 had tested positive and recovered. That is an increase of 71 recoveries since Monday.

There were three new hospitalizations overnight and there are now 30 county residents hospitalized from the virus — a net increase of three. There are currently six patients in intensive-care units, unchanged from Monday.

Albany County’s COVID-19 death toll remains at 369.

The infection rate for Albany County, as of Monday, as a seven-day rolling average, was 2.5 percent, according to the state’s dashboard.

Statewide, the infection rate, also as of Monday, as a seven-day rolling average, was 3.2 percent.

As of Tuesday evening, 46.1 percent of Albany County’s 307,117 residents have gotten at least one dose of vaccine. McCoy reported on Tuesday morning that 31.8 percent were fully vaccinated.

Statewide, 38.6 percent of New Yorkers have received at least one dose while 25.5 percent have completed a vaccination series, according to the state’s vaccine tracker.