Vaccines Allow Local Counties to Near Normalcy
In pursuit of the elusive ‘normal,’ Dutchess and Ulster County governments are doing their best to get their constituencies vaccinated.
Some residents have taken full advantage of the wide accessibility of vaccinations in recent weeks, leading to promising statistics in both counties.
As of May 16, in Dutchess County:
- 51% of residents had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (150,001)
- 42.6% reported being fully vaccinated (125,407)
- 73.1% of residents over the age of 65 had been fully vaccinated (39,445)
The number of vaccinated residents over the age of 65 in Dutchess County surpasses both the state and national averages, at 72.1% and 72.9%.
In Ulster County, their percentages are even greater than that of Dutchess County, though representative of a smaller population of residents.
As of May 17, in Ulster County:
- 56.2% of residents had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (100,762)
- 47.8% reported being fully vaccinated (85,757)
The numbers are heartening, and they are an important phase of getting the counties back on track for pre-pandemic life.
Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan has continuously stressed the importance of vaccines in lessening restrictions and resuming normal operations in businesses and other walks of life throughout the county.
“To me, the science is clear that vaccines are our pathway out of the challenges, the economic impact, the school closures,” said Ryan. “Vaccines are the essential pieces to get out of that and emerge from a very dark, and frankly a deadly, period in Ulster County.”
Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro shared a similar sentiment, insisting that the new vaccination opportunity for children under the age of 12 is a massive step toward that goal of the old way of life.
“As our Commissioner of Behavioral & Community Health Commissioner, Dr. Anil Vaidian, has noted — the expanded eligibility for the youth population is truly a game-changer,” Molinaro said. “As this population gets vaccinated, we will no longer have to tiptoe around this virus and will truly be able to achieve a real degree of normalcy.”
Both counties have employed a number of programs to ensure everyone who wants their vaccination is able to get it. Online vaccine resource centers allow residents to find out information about vaccination appointments available and locations near them. Initiatives have been brainstormed to ease this process, like the Ulster County Area Transit and Dutchess County Public Transit programs, which offer free rides to vaccine appointments to increase accessibility.
County resources have also been allocated to incentive programs, to encourage those hesitant about getting vaccinated to do so. Ulster County has partnered with the convenience store chain Stewart’s Shops to offer vaccines on a walk-in basis at 3 locations, and the first 100 residents to get vaccinated will receive free coffee or ice cream. Dutchess County has established its Vaccine Outreach Coalition, designed to educate citizens about the vaccine and to minimize concern and clarify misconceptions about its safety and efficacy.
All these efforts have proven helpful up until this point and will remain essential in getting as much of the local Hudson Valley community vaccinated as possible. Only then, through community effort, will normalcy ever be in reach.
“Everyone has their own role to play here,” Molinaro said in a recent press conference. “Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, and come get the shot, and it will save your life.”
