Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan updated residents on the latest eligibility guidelines for COVID-19 booster shots Thursday, September 30 as active cases of the virus continue to rapidly decline in the county.
The countywide active case count stood at 289 as of Thursday, down from a peak of 670 on September 11. The City of Kingston led the county with 54 active cases, while Saugerties was second with 43. New Paltz had eight and Woodstock had zero. Ryan said hospitalizations and positivity rates are also down, even as students are attending in-person classes again.
Booster shots will be administered in the same order that residents received their original COVID-19 vaccine, Ryan said in an emailed statement. The county will be sending out registration links via email as well as updating the county’s website and social media channels as more info becomes available.
County officials say they anticipate they will distribute about ten thousand booster doses by the end of October.
Ryan said as of Thursday, only Pfizer has been approved for booster shots. The county executive said in the coming weeks the FDA will be reviewing booster shots for both Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. “Until this authorization, only eligible residents who originally received the Pfizer vaccine will be able to obtain a third dose of Pfizer,” he said.
Ryan said the following individuals are eligible for a booster shot:
- Individuals 65 years of age and older at least six months after completion of the primary series
- Residents of long-term care facility 18 years or older at least six months after completion of the primary series
- Individuals 50-64 years of age with one or more underlying medical conditions* at least six months after completion of the primary series
- Individuals 18-49 years of age with one or more underlying medical conditions* based on individual benefit and risk
- Individuals 18-64 years of age who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting, based on their individual benefit and risk, including:
- An essential worker (frontline and non-frontline)
- An unpaid caregiver of a frail or immunocompromised person
- A paid or unpaid worker who interacts within less than six feet of others
- Lives in a congregate setting (e.g. homeless shelter, correctional facility)
*Underlying medical conditions that can increase risk of moderate or severe illness or death from the virus that causes COVID-19 include:
- Cancer (current or in remission, including 9/11-related cancers
- Chronic kidney disease
- Pulmonary Disease, including but not limited to, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), asthma (moderate-to-severe), pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis and 9/11 related pulmonary diseases
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, including Down Syndrome
- Heart conditions, including but not limited to heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies, or hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) including but not limited to solid organ transplant or from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, use of other immune weakening medicines, or other causes
- Severe Obesity (BMI 40 kg/m2), Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease or Thalassemia
- Type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus
- Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
- Neurologic conditions, including but not limited to Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia
- Liver disease.
Those vaccinated with a primary series of Johnson and Johnson or Moderna vaccine or those who have received recommended doses of a COVID-19 vaccine primary series that has been listed for emergency use by the WHO and not the FDA are currently not eligible for booster shots.
Beginning Friday, October 1, the county’s vaccination site at the former Best Buy store at Hudson Valley Mall will be open on Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. While appointments are encouraged, walk-ins are accepted.
“I want to remind you all of where we were earlier this year, with hospitalizations on the rise we had a tremendous lack of supply of vaccines,” Ryan said. “The lack of reliable doses made residents understandably both anxious and angry. “Nine months later, Ulster County has a vaccination rate of 81%, making us among the top vaccinated counties throughout the State.”
Ryan cautioned residents that the county is not yet out of the woods and there will be more hurdles to clear but officials are working to get residents vaccinated and administer booster shots.
For additional information visit http://www.vaccinateulster.com.
Ahhhhhh…….. the ol’ “Forever ” booster shot. Now Fauci says, that will not be fully vaccinated until you have had 3 shots. The goal posts keep moving, but only in the U.S.. If you think this isnt a political stunt, you have been asleep.
Ahh… half-baked conspiracy theories found on the Internet. There is no vaccination against that.
Why do you think vaccine booster shots are an issue “only in U.S.”?
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-booster-idUKKBN2GA190
You really dont pay attention do you?
Bill, thanks for this link. I always appreciate your respect for the facts.
One would hope that this article will put to rest the absolutely false and reckless assertion that only the U.S. is encouraging it’s citizens to get a booster shot.
My pleasure, RM. I appreciate your perspective, too.
The evidence does not support your anti-vaxer claims. Get real and get the jab.
Natural immunity….thats all you need to know
Unfortunately “natural immunity” didn’t help the 700,000 Americans that have already died of Covid-19.
The real question no one is asking is: If lets say 65-70 percent of the population is vaccinated, why are there more cases this year than last year, when everyone was unvaccinated? Why do the unvaccinated have to get vaccinated to protect the unvaccinated? Isnt the vaccine supposed to do that? Why has Norway deemed Covid a flu? Norway has also lifted all Covid restrictions and mandates, and have scrapped the vaccine passport. Here in the US…..Democrats are hanging onto the power that is slipping through there hands as we speak……and are pushing more mandates…..
Nohns claims that Norway has deemed covid a flu. Is that from Alex Jones or Qanon? Because it has been widely debunked. Norway has done no such thing:
https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-651887593670
Nohns asks why are there more cases this year even if there are more people vaccinated. Well, it’s probably the Democrats secret political stunt to infect as many Republicans as possible and help Big Pharma peddle fake vaccines. Or maybe it’s Cuomo’s fault. Or maybe it’s Magnito’s fault as he encourages the magnetizing vaccines so that he can suck the life out of us.
But here are some other possible answers that Nohns won’t find on his social media feed. (It’s easier to fake-ask some half baked questions than it is to make a clear assertion of his own as to why there are more case this year). But for others that might be interested, here are some reasons:
– Exponential growth.
– There are huge areas of the country that are behaving as if there is no pandemic: no masks, vaccine refusal, etc.. These regions account for the vast majority of covid cases and deaths. It’s a no-brainer for most people.
– Covid hospitalizations and deaths are almost entirely comprised of unvaccinated people
– The Delta variant (which Nohns likely still believes is a political hoax) is highly contagious and accounts for nearly all U.S. infections at this point
You can tell when someone is getting their information exclusively from social media feeds. What continues to surprise me is how powerful the draw is to believe utter nonsense so long as it affirms your beliefs and provides a convenient scapegoat. How many easily debunked social media lies does one swallow before one learns to turn away?
Some facts if you are interested:
https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-TRENDS/dgkvlgkrkpb/
PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE TROLL!!!
Let him wallow in his own misery, why share that, he is just screaming for attention. So do not give it to him. He is not only completely ignorant, but also rotten at his core, please do not respond. Because, it would be futile, his ignorance is so bountiful.
An opinion is not ignorance…..its easier to fool someone than to convince them they have been fooled….lets have this same conversation, a year from now. You always know when you are over the target with people when the name calling starts….and here we are…sorry folks, you have been fooled!
You are not posting just an ”opinion”, you back it up with falsehoods. Lies are not opinion.
You make a good point.
BS: Please know that my comment about making a good point was addressed to you, not to Mr. Nohns.
I kinda got that, there ‘Comrade’ (snicker).
Thanks for the reminder, BS. I fell for it again.
Bill H,
Its always great to see you defend your position……the Norway claim….is fact….you are gonna have to turn off CNN…..like I said, I am clearly over the target….again you have been fooled sir…cheers!
I love it: “… the Norway claim… is fact”. That is not how you persuade people of what is fact. But you know that, don’t you, and you are really just trolling here. There is no place left to find someone still asserting that “Norway deemed covid a flu” except on your social media “news” feed, which has figured out how to send you just about anything to keep you enflamed. I know, it’s embarrassing when you put garbage out there as truth and then are called out in it. I did that a lot when I was a teenager troll.
And since when is Norway your standard barer? It is where trolls come from, so I get why you would be holding the country up as exemplar, but come on. Or maybe to borrow an obnoxious line from fake-patriot conservative boneheads, if you love Norway so much, why don’t you move there?
Do you have family in Norway that can back your claim? Of course you dont…..I on the other hand do….stop caving to fake news…its all fake, every bit of it….the “Lets go Brandon” comment from the sportscaster on live TV proved just that. I guess there wasnt a long enough delay….come out of your funk
Oh, my. “It’s all fake….every bit of it.” Well, except for whatever your relatives in Norway read and the news about a sportscaster misleading viewers about what a crowd was chanting at a NASCAR event (that is what you are referring to, correct? As evidence that all news is fake?). That’s definitely real and important, but all else – every bit of the news – is fake. Well… except for the news on the statistics you claim in your post above. That’s as real as a punch in the eye, but everything else – every bit of it – is fake.
No I do not have family in Norway, but there is the Norwegian Institute for Public Health that deemed your claim to be a gross misrepresentation by clowns on… social media.
AP News on the Widely debunked claim that Norway deemed covid a flu: https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-651887593670
Also fun fact: over 90% of Norwegians have received at least one covid vaccine dose. No trolls have been vaccinated.
Awwwwww….. Is Bill H. being a keyboard queen again, and making assumptions? Adorable, just simply adorable…….the name calling…lol, like I said, I am over the target when the name calling comes out, you cant have an intelligent conversation with Obama era Kool-aid drinkers – “Lets go Brandon!’
Jaymes complaining about people making assumption lol. Thats rich! Norway’s population is 5,475,323, but Jaymes knows every single one of them and can verify their opinions on COVID. He’s related to all 5+ million. I would gladly laugh you out of ANY real world situation where you give your 2 cents. Still waiting for you to fly your freak flag on Main Street so everyone can point and see.
He lives in Florida (but is deeply concerned about our welfare here).
And he’ll try every deceptive rhetorical slither in order to avoid stating where he gets his self-proclaimed facts.
Perhaps you “fellas” shouldnt make your URL addresses so public……someone on here has multiple screen names…..and is actually one person……..y’all are as crooked as the election…..shame on “All” of you…..and no Bill H. , Its not me…….so dont even go there