Putnam Coronavirus Update: Cases, Vaccines

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — As the post-Thanksgiving surge continued in Putnam County, there were 26 COVID-19 patients at Putnam Hospital Center as of Jan. 7, up from eight on Nov. 27.

One person died of COVID-19 in the county last week.

More than half the positive test results in Putnam County since the pandemic began in March have been reported since Thanksgiving. The county had 5,658 confirmed cases as of Friday, compared to 2,722 confirmed cases as of Nov. 27.

Local health officials were tracking 455 active cases as of Friday, compared to 167 at the end of November.

New York State is distributing the coronavirus vaccine in phases based on need and risk, following guidance from the federal Centers and Disease Control. As of Monday, New Yorkers in Phase 1a and segments of Phase 1b were at the top of the state's priority list.

That includes the 1.4 million New Yorkers age 75 and over, first responders, teachers, public transit workers, public safety workers and public-facing grocery store workers, as well as doctors, nurses and other health care workers.

Anyone can go to this state website to see if they are eligible.

Another section of the state website directs people who are currently eligible to locations where they can schedule appointments for the vaccination, which requires two doses. Also, beginning at 4 p.m. on Monday, state health officials will open the COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline for scheduling vaccination appointments for eligible New Yorkers: 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829).

Eligible New Yorkers are encouraged to remain patient and be prepared to receive an appointment date as far as 14 weeks in the future.

New York has a vast distribution network starting up, but the more than 4 million people who are now eligible to receive the vaccine dwarf the supply coming from the federal government, which is currently just 300,000 doses a week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a briefing Monday.

As part of it, Putnam health officials are preparing to offer the vaccine to those in phase 1b who live and work in the county, along with pharmacies, hospitals and other care providers who will be sharing responsibilities.

"This is a good step forward," Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell said Monday. "The rollout will still be slow because the supply is so very limited. We are hopeful that vaccine production will ramp up and that the supply will increase to meet the demand."

The county Department of Health received 600 doses last week. Health officials held vaccination clinics Friday and Monday that were not open to the public but targeted to higher-risk populations, by appointment only to those living or working in facilities run by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, Office of Mental Health, and Office of Addiction Services and Support and certain other individuals and/or groups eligible in phase 1a of New York’s vaccination priority groups.

Keep checking with Patch for updates on how and where to be vaccinated against the coronavirus in Putnam County.

SEE ALSO: Westchester County Center Named Public Vaccination Hub