ALBANY COUNTY — In its 60th week of grappling with COVID-19, Albany County continued to retool its vaccination strategies — focusing on youth and on pop-up clinics to reach rural and urban areas where vaccination rates are lowest.
Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy noted at a press briefing on Monday that Pfizer may soon have authorization to have its vaccine used for youth aged 12 to 15.

“We can lose the mask,” he said. “Kids can start being kids again.”

McCoy invited two local school superintendents — Albany Superintendent Kaweeda Adams and Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Superintendent Brian Bailey — to talk about vaccination efforts in their districts and said that vaccinated youth will help the county reach 70 percent for herd immunity.

“Our schools are our first responders,” McCoy said.

At the same time, Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday joined with the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut to lift most industry capacity restrictions, beginning May 19. He cited the success of vaccination programs and the decline in cases of COVID-19.

On Wednesday, Cuomo announced that Broadway will fully reopen its doors in September, following state health and safety guidance. Beginning May 6, and throughout May, tickets for Broadway shows — which begin September 14, 2021 — will be for sale at 100 percent of theater capacity.

Opening up

“New York shouldn’t be a competitor or an encumbrance to New Jersey or to Connecticut,” said Cuomo at a press conference in New York City on Monday. “If we are not coordinated, what you’ll do is you’ll drive people from New Jersey to come to New York. You’ll drive people from Connecticut to come to New York or you'll drive people from New York to Connecticut.”

He also said of coordinating with neighboring states, “That’s how we closed down and that’s how we’re going to reopen because the same theory is true.”

In New York and New Jersey, most business capacities — which are currently based on a percentage of maximum occupancy — will be removed. Businesses will be limited only by the space available for patrons or parties of patrons to maintain the required social distance of six feet.

“In New York,” said Cuomo of guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “we’re going to keep the six-foot CDC requirements because we do err on the side of safety.”

This new distance-based maximum capacity will apply across commercial settings, including retail, food services, gyms and fitness centers, amusement and family entertainment, hair salons, barber shops and other personal-care services. It will also apply in houses of worship.

In New York, beginning May 10, the outdoor social gathering limit will increase from 200 to 500 people. Beginning May 19, the indoor social gathering limit will increase from 100 to 250 people.

Also, the outdoor residential gathering limit of 25 people will be removed, reverting to the social gathering limit of 500 people with space for appropriate social distancing, and the indoor residential gathering limit will increase from 10 to 50 people.

In New York, gatherings over the limits may occur only if all attendees present proof of full vaccination or recent negative COVID-19 test results.

Venues that host sports competitions, performing arts and live entertainment, and catered receptions can exceed the gathering limits of 500 people outdoors or 250 people indoors if all attendees over the age of 4 present either proof of full vaccination or recent negative COVID-19 test results and the required social distancing can be accommodated.

Starting May 19, large-scale indoor event venues will operate at 30 percent capacity, which is an increase from the current 10 percent capacity limit. Large-scale outdoor event venues will operate at 33 percent. Social distancing, masks, and other health protocols will still apply, including the requirement of attendee proof of full vaccination or recent negative COVID-19 test result.

Some industry-specific requirements will remain in effect, including state or local health authority event notification, health screening, contact information for tracing, enhanced air handling and building-system standards, hand hygiene, and environmental cleaning and disinfection protocols.

On Wednesday, Cuomo announced that large-scale outdoor event venues will only be limited by the space available for patrons or parties of patrons to maintain the required social distance of six feet starting May 19. This applies to outdoor sports, performing arts and live entertainment, and horse and auto racing venues statewide.

Cuomo also announced that in large-scale outdoor event venues, fully vaccinated attendees may be spaced next to one another, instead of six feet apart, in assigned, seated sections that are designated solely for fully vaccinated people.

They will have to provide proof of full immunization status, which can be provided through paper form, digital application, or the State's Excelsior Pass. By June 19, the state will begin to pilot reduced social distancing at large-scale indoor event venues in assigned, seated sections that are designated solely for fully vaccinated individuals. Young adults and children under the age of 16 who are not yet eligible for the vaccine may accompany and be seated with a vaccinated adult in a fully vaccinated section.

Federal help

Restaurants and caterers will have federal support as they expand their capacity.

Congressman Paul Tonko announced last Friday that restaurants in New York’s Capital Region can start applying for direct relief through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund starting on Monday, May 3, and he is recommending that they start the process early by registering through the United States Small Business Administration application portal.

The $28.6 billion fund was created by the American Rescue Plan to provide restaurants and other eligible businesses — like food stands, caterers, wineries, bakeries, and taverns — with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business.

The relief does not have to be repaid, provided that the funds are put toward eligible uses by March 11, 2023.

McCoy said at his Friday morning press briefing that businesses, including local restaurants are having a hard time hiring people. He mentioned restaurants offering to pay dishwashers up to $20 an hour and getting no takers.

Evolving Vaccination strategies

Albany County is continuing to have fewer residents come to its mass vaccination clinic — a trend across the state and nation — and announced on Friday that mobile vaccination clinics will be run by the Capital District Physicians Health Plan and also that the county’s health department will welcome walk-ins on designated days for vaccination.

“We’ve got to re-imagine how we’re getting the vaccine out to people,” said McCoy at his Friday press briefing.

He said Erie County is giving vouchers to local bars to residents who get vaccinated.

“Throughout the state and country, we all have the same issue,” McCoy said of the falling vaccination rate.

According to the state’s vaccine tracker, as of Tuesday night, 54.6 percent of Albany County’s 307,117 residents have received a first shot. Statewide, 46.9 percent of New Yorkers have had one dose of vaccine while 35.7 percent have completed a series.

When Albany County first opened its POD, or point of dispensing, at the Times Union Center in Albany, slots filled quickly. Now, although walk-ins are welcome, turnout has plummeted. Only 264 first doses were administered last Thursday, including 16 for those without appointments, McCoy reported.

The county’s health department at 175 Green Street in Albany will vaccinate anyone 16 or older, without an appointment, on Thursday and Friday, May 6 and 7, following an initiative started earlier in the week.

“You can walk in … You don’t need an appointment. You don’t need to fill out anything,” said McCoy.

“We’re trying to get at least 12 people a day,” McCoy said on Friday of vaccination at the Green Street site.

Free transportation will be provided for anyone 60 or older, along with their caregiver. Residents should call 518-447-7198 in advance for a ride.

“We’ll pick you up at your house,” said McCoy, noting some people are still wary of mass transit. “We’re there for you.”

“For people that are interested in learning more, please come down,” said Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen. “We have certified health educators that can speak to people.”

Whalen said there is “a tremendous amount of misinformation” about the vaccines. “We really need people to get the right information to make an informed decision.”

Whalen also said that a lot of businesses are providing incentives, which she termed “a great idea.” “Working towards the goal of having a fully vaccinated workforce is something that will get all of our businesses back up and running faster,” she said.

Another new initiative is being provided by the Capital District Physicians Health Plan, which offered its first mobile clinic last Friday at the Emmanuel Baptist Church.

“We have folks on site there who are ready to talk to community members, provide the facts about the vaccine and, if they’re open to it, actually get vaccinated on the spot,” said CDPHP Vice President for Community Engagement Kathy Leyden. “We love this type of mobile, flexible approach and we hope that this is the first of many opportunities to partner with the county.”

CDPHP is providing the van and the county is providing the vaccine. Staff from the county’s health department and from CDPHP will conduct outreach and oversee the day-today operation of various pop-up clinics.

“This is about getting into target communities or people that don’t want to get out or go into bigger places,” said McCoy. He noted that numbers at the Washington Avenue Armory clinic, run jointly by the state and federal governments, are declining as they are at the county’s big PODs.

“We’re going to re-evaluate what we do on a weekly basis,” said McCoy.

The partnership with CDPHP will help reach minority and rural communities, including the Hilltowns, he said.

McCoy urged residents to inform themselves by consulting reputable websites like those maintained by the health department, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the World Health Organization.

“Everyone hit that wall,” McCoy said of citizens no longer clamoring for vaccination. 

Moderna vaccine doses, McCoy said was recently learned, can be refrigerated for up to three months which “will make it easier to get out.”

At his press briefing on Monday, McCoy pushed the importance of vaccinating youth.

“We need parents to educate themselves and get their kids vaccinated,” he said.

Adams, Albany’s superintendent of schools, said that one of her district’s guiding principles is to “focus on partnering with our diverse community.”

The district has done voluntary weekly testing for COVID-19 and of 1,100 tests conducted, found one positive case. As of April 30, she said, the district has had 357 positive cases.

On May 13, the district will hold a second-dose clinic for students and staff and, on May 20, another first-dose vaccination for students.

Currently, anyone 16 or older is eligible for vaccination. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only one authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for 16- and 17-year-olds.

Bailey, the superintendent for Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, said that the pandemic had caused the schools to “completely reinvent” education and had also “spurred a whole new appreciation” for what teachers do.

Similar to the Albany city schools, he said, 40 percent of RCS students had chosen to learn remotely, and will continue to do so for the rest of the school year.

“I’m all in for vaccination,” Bailey said. RCS hosted its first clinic two Saturdays ago, he said, and vaccinated 90 people, including students, families, and staff, working in partnership with Crestwood Pharmacy.

He noted that Coeymans Hollow, served by RCS, has the lowest rate of vaccination in the county,  reported by McCoy last week at 19.1 percent.

The district had “high hopes” for earlier clinics but was disappointed when the vaccine doses didn’t come through. Bailey praised Albany County for keeping its promise and supplying vaccine doses. Transportation was offered to students and their families that had a need, he said.

Vaccination is necessary, Bailey said, “if we want our kids back and wwe want to rid ourselves from masks.”

Newest numbers

This week, McCoy reported just one death from Albany County. A woman in her sixties died of the disease on Monday, bringing the conty’s COVID-19 death toll to 376.

The infection rate for the state, as of Monday, as a seven-day rolling average, was 1.8 percent, according to the state’s dashboard. Albany County’s infection rate, also as of Monday, as a seven-day rolling average, was 1.4 percent.

On Wednesday morning, McCoy reported in a release 16bnew cases of COVID-19, bringing the Albany County’s tally to 23,927. 

Of the new cases, 11 did not have clear sources of infection identified and five had close contact with someone infected with the disease.

The five-day average for new daily positives dropped to 19 from 21.6. There are now 219 active cases in the county, down from 240 on Tuesday.

The number of Albany County residents under quarantine decreased to 523 from 540. So far, 77,691 residents have completed quarantine. Of those who completed quarantine, 23,708 had tested positive and recovered. That is an increase of 39 recoveries since Tuesday.

There were four new hospitalizations overnight, and there remain 24 county residents hospitalized from the virus. There are currently eight patients in intensive care units, up two from Tuesday.