ALBANY COUNTY — As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 causes an unprecedented surge, Albany County is distributing masks and rapid antigen tests in hopes of making holiday visits safer.

“We’re at the peak of it right now ….,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy at a press conference on Thursday morning as he announced 245 new COVID cases and another virus-related death.

“The governor has seen we need to get masks out there, and testing kits,” said McCoy, thanking Kathy Hochul, who, in turn, had thanked President Joe Biden when she announced earlier that 5 million over-the-counter at-home tests for COVID would be coming to the state before Jan. 1.

McCoy said that Albany County was given 138,000 Kn-95 masks and 10,000 test kits.

“This is just the first shipment … By the end of the month, we’ll have more,” McCoy said.

Although health insurance is now supposed to cover the cost of home tests, McCoy said they can be expensive and will be distributed “especially in the Black and brown communities.”

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said that both the masks and the tests will be distributed to county municipalities based on population.

Some will say it’s “just a drop in the bucket,” said Apple. The county has about 320,000 residents.

The largest share, he said, will go to the city of Albany, which is getting 33,000 masks, “all the way down to the town of Westerlo that will get 1,000 masks.”

Nine pallets of masks arrived yesterday afternoon, the sheriff said, and his staff started loading trailers early Thursday morning so the items would be delivered by the end of the day.

“We’ve then turned it over to emergency managers and municipal leaders to decide where to drop,” Apple said. He said he hoped dissemination would start this weekend “to quell the spike.”

Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen said that rapid antigen tests — where a swab is inserted in the nose — are easy to perform and should detect the coronavirus. The tests may not give a positive result before symptoms have appeared or after they have subsided.

Whalen also said, “We know that masks reduce transmission and offer protection for those that wear them.”

She noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimates that over 70 percent of new cases in the United States are the Omicron variant.

“If you look at how this has played out in other countries, the rise in cases is very rapid,” said Whalen. “The trajectory of the upward curve is very steep. It is very unfortunate that we find ourselves in this situation on the week between Christmas and New Year’s.”

She noted that the highly transmissible Omicron variant is now being reflected in the county’s case numbers, which have been above 200 for several days.

New York State reported another record-breaking number of new cases in one day on Thursday with 38,835 positive tests, which is an increase of 10,000, or over 35 percent.

Thursday morning, the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data database reported that the Omicron variant comprised 62.4 percent of uploaded sequences from New York State between Dec. 9 and 22, according to a release from the governor’s office.

Gauging by what has happened in other countries where Omicron hit first, the surge peaks very quickly and then subsides, said Whalen. “In South Africa this morning, it was reported cases are starting to dissipate,” she said.

Her focus, Whalen said, is on “protecting our hospitals and protecting against unnecessary severe illness and death … the cornerstone for protection does remain vaccination.”

She also said, “If you’re fully vaccinated and boostered your chances of going to the hospital if you contract COVID-19 and having a serious outcome decrease on the order of 30 times.”

She reminded people over 16 that they are now eligible for a booster shot. Booster shots are particularly important in fending off the Omicron variant.

People who were vaccinated with the two-shot messenger RNA vaccines — Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech — have to wait six months to be eligible for a booster shot. People who were vaccinated with the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine have to wait two months.

New information from the CDC, Whalen said, is that people who received a Johnson & Johnson vaccine should be boostered with a messenger RNA vaccine.

She concluded by recommending residents follow the well-known protocols: wearing masks; social-distancing; limiting gatherings to those who are vaccinated; washing hands; and, if you’re not feeling well, staying home and getting tested.

Pill authorized

McCoy expressed enthusiasm that the Food and Drug Administration has authorized the first COVID treatment pill.

On Dec. 22, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s Paxlovid to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients who are at least 12 and are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, according to a release from the FDA.

“Paxlovid is available by prescription only and should be initiated as soon as possible after diagnosis of COVID-19 and within five days of symptom onset,” the FDA release said.

“Today’s authorization introduces the first treatment for COVID-19 that is in the form of a pill that is taken orally — a major step forward in the fight against this global pandemic,” said Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in the release. “This authorization provides a new tool to combat COVID-19 at a crucial time in the pandemic as new variants emerge and promises to make antiviral treatment more accessible to patients who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19.”

Paxlovid is not authorized for the pre-exposure or post-exposure prevention of COVID-19 or for initiation of treatment in those requiring hospitalization due to severe or critical COVID-19, the FDA says.

“Paxlovid is not a substitute for vaccination in individuals for whom COVID-19 vaccination and a booster dose are recommended,” the FDA says. “The FDA has approved one vaccine and authorized others to prevent COVID-19 and serious clinical outcomes associated with a COVID-19 infection, including hospitalization and death. The FDA urges the public to get vaccinated and receive a booster if eligible.”

Newest numbers

A woman in her fifties is the most recent county resident to succumb to COVID-19, bringing the county’s death toll to 468.

McCoy reported that, among the COVID deaths in the county so far this month, one-third were fully vaccinated and two-thirds hadn’t received a single shot.

With 245 new COVID-19 cases reported on Thursday morning, Albany County’s seven-day average of new daily positive cases is now up to 228.4.

The county’s most recent seven-day average of cases per 100,000 is now up to 62.4 and the Capital Region’s average of cases per 100,000 is now up to 66.3.

There are now 962 active cases in Albany County with 1,946 residents under quarantine.

There were five new hospitalizations since Wednesday, and there are 60 county residents currently hospitalized with the coronavirus – a net decrease of one. Eight of those hospital patients remain in intensive-care units.

As of Wednesday, 78.5 percent of all Albany County residents have received at least the first dose of the vaccine, and 71.3 percent have been fully vaccinated. The first-dose vaccination rate for county residents 18 and older is at 87.6 percent.