In the ‘red’ zone

SULLIVAN COUNTY –– Public Health Services continues to work to get more people vaccinated as the more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 becomes more prevalent.

In a county issued press release on August 10, it was announced that there was an 80.5 percent increase in positive cases and a 108 percent increase in the number of people in quarantine from the week prior, which has put the county in the Federal Centers for Disease Control’s “red” zone or area of high COVID transmission.

There’s also been a jump in hospitalizations, with 12 as of Thursday morning.

“It has historically been older folks [over 55 and 60] ending up in the hospital, for the most part, but suddenly, we have quite a few people now in the hospital who are between 19 and 44,” said Public Health Director Nancy McGraw in her report to legislators at Thursday’s Health and Family Services Committee meeting. “This Delta variant is changing the landscape of what we’re going to start seeing, and we do need to be more concerned about younger people who are not vaccinated.”

McGraw also expressed concern about what is going  on in the South, with the increase in pediatric hospitalizations due to the virus.

“We don’t have a pediatric ICU in this county,” she said. “If we have children who need to be admitted for COVID they’re going to be out of the county and their families are going to have a hard time traveling to see and stay with them. So the best thing we can do right now is vaccinate and encourage everybody to wear a mask to protect everyone.”

There is also a push to vaccinate 12-17 year olds, especially with school starting in a few weeks.

McGraw said they have been working very closely with the school superintendents group, providing them with some guidance and interpretation of the CDC’s guidance. She also said the Public Health team sent out a whole packet of information to them Thursday morning regarding mask wearing, CDC recommendations, safety on buses and classrooms, social distancing, and helping them update their COVID plans for the reopening of schools.

While schools are responsible for their own COVID plans, McGraw said they’d continue to provide support.

Vaccines work

McGraw noted that there has been misinformation spreading on social media about the effectiveness of vaccines.

However, only about one percent of fully vaccinated people are dealing with a “breakthrough” COVID-19 infection in Sullivan County, according to McGraw. (Being fully vaccinated means that it has been at least two weeks since the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or two weeks past the single-dose J&J vaccine.)

“This shows that the vaccines are doing their job, and if you’re concerned about catching coronavirus, think how much more vulnerable and exposed you’ll be without vaccinating,” she remarked. “This is about doing what’s right for your health and that of the people around you. The numbers prove conclusively that you’re far safer being vaccinated, and if you do still contract COVID, your chances of getting seriously ill or even dying are greatly reduced.”

So far vaccine doses have been delivered to approximately 39,000 people in the county out of a year-round population of 75,498.

According to the CDC’s website, as of August 15, 47.5 percent of the county’s population had been fully vaccinated, while 51.9 percent had at least one dose.

As of August 4, Harris and Burlingham had the highest percentage of residents who completed the vaccine series at greater than 99. This is followed by White Lake, Fremont Center and Thompsonville at 93.8, 93.5 and 93.2 percent respectively. Fallsburg [zipcode 12733] and Phillipsport had the lowest numbers, at 11.2 and 16.9 percent respectively.

Public Health Services continues to offer free Pfizer doses (ages 12 and older) every Wednesday from 2-6 p.m. at its offices at 50 Community Lane in Liberty. Walk-in or register at www.sullivanny.us/Departments/Publichealth/COVIDvaccines/clinics.

Local pharmacies and healthcare providers are also offering free shots, and in homebound cases, Public Health can make personal visits. (Call 845-292-5910 to schedule, if homebound.)

Other vaccination locations with current stock can be found at www.vaccines.gov, by texting your zip code to 438829 or by calling 1-800-232-0233. If you have questions about COVID-19, call the New York State COVID-19 Hotline at 1-888-364-3065.

Mask Mandate

With COVID-19 statistics continuing to climb locally and nationally, Sullivan County Manager Joshua Potosek issued an Emergency Order reinstating the facial mask-wearing requirement for employees and visitors to all County buildings.

The Emergency Order took effect at 8 a.m. yesterday [August 16] and will remain in place until further notice. It applies to everyone, whether vaccinated or not against COVID-19.

“Note that we’re not re-implementing locked offices or sign-in procedures at this time. Most of our buildings remain open and welcome to the public,” Potosek said. “We’ll continue to evaluate as circumstances evolve. In the meantime, I encourage people to not only wear masks whenever they’re in close contact with others, but to also get vaccinated.”

McGraw recently stated that she strongly encourages everyone – vaccinated or unvaccinated – to wear masks indoors and outdoors where you cannot be at least six feet away from another person, or you are in a large group for greater than 15 minutes.

“We still have a chance to beat this latest outbreak without shutting everything down again. But it’s going to take all of us putting up a strong defense,” she noted. “COVID-19 will seek out the most vulnerable among us – the unvaccinated and the unmasked. Let’s not let that happen!”