ALBANY COUNTY — This week, announcements were made by both the president and New York’s governor that vaccination would be required for certain workers. On Monday, a group of health-care workers sued, causing a temporary restraining order on New York’s mandate.

Meanwhile, as Albany County, in its 79th week of battling the coronavirus, suffered two more deaths from the virus — bringing its death toll to 400 — the county executive continued to urge vaccination.

On Sunday, a man in his eighties died of COVID-19, and on Monday, a woman in her fifties died of the disease.

County Executive Daniel McCoy said after Sunday’s death, “This comes as the CDC releases a new study showing that unvaccinated individuals were 10 times more likely to be sent to the hospital and 11 times more likely to die after getting infected with the virus than those who have been vaccinated.”

After Monday’s death, McCoy continued to urge vaccination, saying, “Our most recent data continues to show that the vast majority of those hospitalized with COVID are unvaccinated.”

Among the 34 county residents who are hospitalized, 71 percent are not vaccinated, 3 percent are partially vaccinated, and 26 percent were fully vaccinated,” he said.

Between Sept. 5 and 11, the county’s health department identified 458 new COVID infections. Of those, 218 patients were fully vaccinated, 205 were not vaccinated — and for 35 cases, the vaccination status was unknown or the individual refused to answer.

New York State’s vaccination mandates

At a press conference on Wednesday morning, Governor Kathy Hochul reiterated her commitment to vaccination mandates. She said that mandates are “having an effect on people’s decisions” to finally get vaccinated.

She also likened not getting vaccinated to playing Russian roulette.

“If you’re not fully vaccinated, you’re 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die,” she said, citing the same data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that McCoy had cited.

Hochul displayed graphs, showing the surge of hospitalizations last fall and winter, beginning with Halloween and ramping up to the Christmas holiday through New Year’s. This was before a vaccine was available.

People who are vaccinated can “have fun,” she said, for example attending events. At the same time, she urged venues like sporting arenas to require vaccination for attendance.

For those who are not vaccinated, Hochul said, “I’m sending out the alarm right now … It’s not going to be fun spending the winter on a ventilator.”

She said that any court decisions, like the one issued this week, restraining mandated vaccination will be appealed by the state.

As she had during her Sept. 8 press briefing, Hochul again on Wednesday said that the vaccines are holding against the Delta variant, calling breakthrough infections — vaccinated people testing positive for COVID-19 — rare.

She noted that breakthrough cases have been reported in only 0.5 percent of the fully vaccinated population and that only 0.04 percent of the fully vaccinated population has been hospitalized.

Also on Sept. 8, Hochul displayed a chart, listing groups of people that are required by the state to be vaccinated:

— All state workers in health-care facilities must be vaccinated; workers in hospitals and nursing homes must be vaccinated by Sept. 27 while workers in home-care agencies, hospices, and adult-care facilities must be vaccinated by Oct. 7;

— State University of New York students at all 64 campuses and City University of New York students must be vaccinated by Sept. 27; and

— Mass Transit Authority and Port Authority workers must be vaccinated by Oct. 12; they have the option of weekly COVID-19 testing instead.

Hochul said staff shortages at hospitals could reach “a crisis level” and touted programs that train helath-care workers in less than a year.

She spoke of the need for all health-care workers to be vaccinated, calling it “a tremendous risk … if they, too, are carrying the virus.”

Last Thursday, Will Barclay, Assembly minority leader, and 41 of the 43 GOP members signed a letter to Hochul and the state’s health commissioner, Howard Zucker, objecting to the vaccination mandate.

“With an estimated 20 to 25 percent of healthcare workers unvaccinated, we will be facing numerous resignations or firings by the September 27th deadline ….,” the letter said. “What is the Department of Health’s response plan to ensure that New York’s healthcare workforce remains in place? In addition, what can be done for those who are in the healthcare field who have a medical exemption for the vaccine, as they cannot medically tolerate receiving it, or for the many work-from-home medical professionals, such as coders and transcriptionists?”

The letter also said, “Perhaps a more comprehensive solution, instead of a widespread mandate, would be to increase access to PPE, including N95 masks, for healthcare settings and allow for weekly testing of unvaccinated healthcare workers, which is the standard applied to P-12 schools.”

On Monday, a complaint was filed by 17 unnamed health-care workers, calling the vaccine mandate unconstitutional, nullifying protections for sincere religious beliefs granted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The original directive that health-care workers be vaccinated came from former Governor Andrew Cuomo in mid-August.

The state has until Sept. 22 to respond.

“What New York is attempting to do is slam shut an escape hatch from an unconstitutional vaccine mandate,” attorney Christopher Ferrara in a statement. He is the special counsel for the Thomas More Society, representing the health-care workers in the federal case against the state.

“And they are doing this while knowing that many people have sincere religious objections to vaccines that were tested, developed, or produced with cell lines derived from aborted children, Ferrara said.

The Thomas More Society is a conservative Catholic law firm based in Chicago, which has fought abortion and same-sex marriage through lawsuits and also filed cases as part of Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The suit alleges all three of the COVID-19 vaccines used in the United States “employ fetal cell lines derived from procured abortion in testing, development or production of the vaccines.”

“Without court intervention,” Ferrara continued in the release from the society, “these health professionals face loss of occupation, professional status, and employability anywhere in the state of New York. All because of an abortion-connected vaccine, one that they cannot take in good conscience.”

At Wednesday’s press briefing, Hochul said that allowing health-care workers to regularly test negative for COVID-19 was intentionally left out of the regulations.

“We’ll be defending this in court,” she said, noting the court date is Sept. 28 — which is a day after the mandate was to go into effect.

“I’m not aware of a sanctioned religious exemption …,” said Hochul. “Everyone from the pope on down is encouraging their members to get vaccinated.”

Also on Monday, Stephen Hanse, president of the New York State Health Facilities Association, which represents over 450 skilled nursing and assisted-living facilities in New York, sent a letter to Zucker, requesting that unvaccinated long-term care workers be allowed to continue to work so long as they take regular COVID-19 tests and use personal protective gear.

The letter cited a survey showing 94 percent of responding skilled nursing facilities are experiencing staff shortages. The shortages persist despite 86 percent of the providers polled offering “generous incentives,” Hanse’s letter said.

At Wednesday’s press briefing, Hochul answered a question from a reporter who wanted to know what resources the state would provide for a Chautauqua facility that said it would lose a third of its staff due to the vaccination mandate.

Hochul responded that last year, health-care facilities were to have plans in place to increase capacity by 50 percent. She said that it was “frightening” that a third of the employees working in a health-care facility wouldn’t be vaccinated.

“We count on you to be healthy yourself,” Hochul said of health-care workers.

She concluded of the mandate, “This is not intended to be dictatorial. It’s intended to save lives.”

Biden’s plan

Last Thursday, in outlining a six-part plan to stem the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, President Joe Biden made vaccination a priority, requiring two-thirds of American workers to get the shots.

He named new vaccination requirements, saying the Department of Labor is developing an emergency rule to require all employers with 100 or more workers — which together employ over 80 million workers — to ensure their work forces are fully vaccinated or show a negative test at least once a week. Workers will be given paid time off to get vaccinated.

Already, all nursing-home workers who treat patients on Medicare and Medicaid must be vaccinated and Biden expanded that to those who work in hospitals, home health-care facilities or other medical facilities — a total of 17 million health care workers.

He also signed executive orders requiring all executive branch federal employees and all federal contractors to be vaccinated.

“Today, in total, the vaccine requirements in my plan will affect about 100 million Americans — two-thirds of all workers,”said Biden. “And for other sectors, I issue this appeal: To those of you running large entertainment venues from sports arenas to concert venues to movie theaters, please require folks to get vaccinated or show a negative test as a condition of entry.”

Biden also asked physicians to reach out to their unvaccinated patients and make a personal appeal for them to get the shot.

“We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us,” he said of the unvaccinated.

Biden noted the frustration many Americans have with the nearly 80 million who are not vaccinated. “This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” he said.

The “tough stretch” could last a while, he said, admonishing “elected officials actively working to undermine the fight against Covid-19.”

Biden said, “Instead of encouraging people to get vaccinated and mask up, they are ordering mobile morgues for the unvaccinated dying from COVID in our communities.” The 25 percent of Americans who remain unvaccinated, he said, “overcrowd our hospitals or overrun the emergency rooms and intensive-care units, leaving no room for someone with a heart attack or pancreatitis or cancer.”

Pandemic relief

Hochul on Tuesday announced “significant progress” in providing pandemic relief to impacted New Yorkers through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program and the Excluded Workers Program.

“We’re double the amount in three weeks,” Hochul said at Wednesday’s press briefing, referencing the date she took office, comparing it to what had been done in the four months prior.

She also said 80 organizations “who have boots on the ground” have been hired, many of them going door-to-door to get application forms to tenants who may need assistance.

The amount of pandemic-related emergency rental assistance paid out has nearly doubled in the past three weeks — growing to $399 million — enabling tenants at risk for eviction to stay in their homes and helping struggling landlords to recoup unpaid rent, according to a release from the governor’s office.

Beginning Wednesday, Sept. 15, middle-income renters previously ineligible for assistance could begin applying for $125 million in state funding through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

Under federal guidelines, only those households that were impacted by the pandemic and earning at or below 80 percent of the area median income were eligible for ERAP.

Administered by the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the program is providing $2.6 billion in federal funding to pay up to 12 months arrears and three months of prospective rent directly to landlords, while providing approved tenants with up to a year of eviction protection, provided they continue to pay rent.

Area median income varies by county and by household size. Renters interested in applying for either federal or state assistance should visit otda.ny.gov/erap.

New York State is now ranked first nationally in payments made or obligated, with more than $1.2 billion, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which tracks the state-by-state implementation of ERAP.  

The state has exceeded the threshold to avoid a claw back of federal rental assistance funds and now qualifies to potentially receive funding allocated to other states that aren't distributing this assistance quickly enough.

Additionally, while some is undergoing final verification, Hochul announced that over $1.05 billion in Excluded Workers Program funds have been approved for distribution.

Approved applicants receive one of two benefit amounts based on the level of work eligibility documentation they provide in addition to verifying their identity and residence. Tier 1 qualifiers receive $15,600 and Tier 2 qualifiers receive $3,200.

Of those approved so far, 99 percent have qualified for Tier 1 benefits. Approved applicants receive a one-time payment on a prepaid card mailed to the address provided in the application. Cards allow for cash withdrawal or purchases with merchants.

New mask requirements

Hochul on Wednesday also announced a series of universal mask requirements for child-care and day-care centers.

The requirement applies to New York State Office of Children and Family Services-licensed and -registered child care centers, home-based group family and family child care programs, after-school child care programs and enrolled legally exempt group programs during operational hours.

New masking requirements will also apply to congregate programs and facilities licensed, registered, operated, certified or approved by the Office of Mental Health, the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, Office of Children and Family Services and the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.

This includes but is not limited to certified residential and day programs, inpatient and outpatient mental health facilities, substance abuse programs, juvenile detention programs, juvenile residential facilities, congregate foster care programs, runaway and homeless youth, domestic violence and other shelter programs.

These requirements apply to anyone medically able to tolerate wearing a mask, regardless of vaccination status.
 

Newest numbers

 According to the CDC, both Albany County and New York State continue to have a high rate of community transmission, triggering indoor mask-wearing in public places, regardless of vaccination status.

In New York State, as a seven-day average, the infection rate is 3.2 percent; the Capital Region is at 4.4 percent. Albany County’s infection rate is also at 4.4 percent.

New York City has the lowest rate at 2.2 percent, and the North Country has the highest rate at 5.7 percent.

On Wednesday morning, McCoy reported 68 new cases of COVID-19 with 424 active cases in the county.

The number of Albany County residents under quarantine increased to 804 from 752.

There was one new hospitalization since Tuesday, and 27 county residents are now hospitalized with the virus — a net decrease of seven. There are currently nine patients in intensive-care units.

According to the state’s vaccine tracker, as of Wednesday afternoon, 70.5 percent of Albany county’s 307,117 residents had received at least one dose of vaccine as had 81.5 percent of residents 18 or older.

Statewide, 69.2 percent of New Yorkers had one shot as had 81.7 percent of New Yorkers 18 and older. At the same time 61.8 percent of New Yorkers were fully vaccinated as were 73.4 percent of New Yorkers 18 and older.

Albany County continues to deliver vaccines to homebound residents, which includes seniors, disabled individuals, those lacking childcare, and those with other accessibility issues. Anyone who would like to schedule a time for a vaccine appointment should call 518-447-7198.

There will be a pop-up clinic on Saturday, Sept. 18, from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Medusa firehouse pancake breakfast at 28 Route 351 in Rensselaerville.

County residents can also receive free Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., each week at the Albany County Department of Health at 175 Green Street. Anyone 12 or older is eligible. No appointments are needed and walk-ins are welcome.