ALBANY — With 217 new county residents testing positive for COVID from Tuesday to Wednesday, three more deaths the hotline established by the United Way of the Greater Capital Region is now available to help people navigate what is a confusing vaccination landscape.
There were 15 new hospitalizations overnight but there was a net decrease of four for a total of 151 residents currently hospitalized, said County Executive Dan McCoy.
The new cases brings the total number to 14,761 since the pandemic took hold in March, 2020. Of the 44,357 people who have completed quarantine, 12,774 tested positive and recovered, an increase of 158 from Tuesday to Wednesday.
The three deaths include a man in his 70s, a woman in her 80s and a woman more than 100 years old. The county’s death toll stands at 259.
As the massive vaccine program ramps up to Phase 1B, and there are more points of distribution cropping up, there is some confusion on where people can sign up. The state Department of Health website has a link here or by calling the hotline at 1-833-697-4829 to check eligibility and to schedule an appointment.
Basically, Phase 1B includes teachers, first responders and those older than 65. There are a number of places to get vaccinated, including hospitals and the Times Union Center, with more planned in the near future as more doses become available from the federal government — which distributes to the states which funnels it to the individual regions.
To help answer questions, the United Way is offering assistance to those who call its 2-1-1 hotline, which was established to help people find testing sites, get food delivered and with other COVID related issues.
“Since March 2020, United Way’s 211 has connected tens of thousands of Capital Region residents to critical support during the pandemic,” said Peter Gannon, president & CEO of UWGCR. “We’ve connected residents to food, testing and served as a hotline to report price gouging and we’re ready to support the largest public health operation in the history of the county by providing information on the safety, efficacy and availability of the COVID-19 vaccine.”
