Molinaro Updates Residents During Latest
Virtual COVID-19 Town Hall Forum
Poughkeepsie, NY … Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro hosted his most recent online town hall forum regarding COVID-19 on Wednesday, updating residents about the pandemic, the County’s response and vaccine distribution, among other topics, while answering their questions.
The event is available to view on-demand on the County’s YouTube page, which includes an archive of the dozens of similar online conversations County Executive Molinaro has hosted since March 2020.
Among the highlights of Wednesday’s conversation:
- County Executive Molinaro updated residents on the most current data available on the Dutchess County COVID-19 Community Impact Dashboard:
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- 538,370 tests completed to date
- 22,457 confirmed cases to date
- 1,058 current active cases
- 48 current hospitalizations
- 408 deaths
- 20,991 recovered to date
- 33.41 new cases per 100,000 population
- Positivity Rate (7-day rolling average) for Dutchess County: 4.25% as of March 1st
- Just over 6,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been allocated to providers throughout Dutchess County this week by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), County Executive Molinaro said. Allocations include:
The Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health (DBCH) has been allocated 4,040 doses of COVID-19 vaccine this week from New York State, a significant increase over the state’s allotment to DBCH in past weeks. Eligible individuals, including individuals 65 or older, those with health conditions and essential workers will be randomly selected for this week’s appointments via a computer-generated process from the current list of more than 44,000 people who have completed the Dutchess County Vaccination Information Request Form OR in coordination with essential worker employers.
In addition to the appointments scheduled at the County’s vaccination sites in Dover and the former JCPenney store in Poughkeepsie, DBCH has also partnered with some of the area’s largest healthcare providers – CareMount Medical, Premiere Medical Group, and Sun River Health – to vaccinate homebound and medically frail senior citizens. These providers are directly notifying patients to schedule appointments. Please do not call these healthcare providers about appointments at this time.
An additional 2,000 doses has been allocated by New York State to hospitals, pharmacies, federally qualified health centers in Dutchess County. Updates about these vaccine allocations and appointment availability are posted at dutchessny.gov/covidvaccine. Many of these locations already have waiting lists.
- The County Executive announced Marist College, in partnership with New York State, will host a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site on the school’s Town of Poughkeepsie campus, tentatively scheduled to begin Friday, March 5th. The site will distribute 500 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine each day for a week. Eligible Dutchess County residents will be able register for the Marist site using the state’s “Am I Eligible?” online tool. Appointments filled up within minutes of the state opening availability Thursday morning, though appointments at other New York State-operated vaccination sites, including the Javits Center in Manhattan, remain available through the “Am I Eligible? tool. The state announced 164,800 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be delivered throughout New York this week; and future vaccine allocations, when they are delivered, will be used to establish additional sites throughout the state.
- Almost one in seven Dutchess County residents, or 13.5 percent of the County’s population, has received at least their first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to New York State; the statewide average is 15.2 percent. In all, the state reported 39,670 Dutchess County residents have received at least their first shot, entering Wednesday, and 19,566 had received their second shot.
- Nursing homes throughout Dutchess County have also received additional COVID-19 vaccine doses, County Executive Molinaro said, and DBCH staff continues to work with these facilities to vaccinate more residents and staff.
Residents in nursing homes are now allowed to receive visitors, under state guidance, provided their facility has been free of COVID-19 for 14 days and visitation is kept under 20 percent of its population. Visitation can occur in private rooms, dedicated visitation spaces or outdoors, but facilities may limit visitation time.
In counties whose positivity rate is below 5 percent, such as Dutchess County currently, testing of visitors is not required, though rapid tests may be provided by the facility.
- County Executive Molinaro announced the formation of a vaccine equity coalition, a collaboration between the County, the City of Poughkeepsie and local stakeholders, to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccine among residents in underserved communities.
- DBCH invites residents and stakeholders to take part in its annual forum regarding the service needs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities on Tuesday, March 9th, at 5:30 p.m. To conform to COVID-19 guidelines related to social gatherings and physical distancing, this year’s forum will be held virtually, and those interested in attending can register at dutchessny.gov/forumcomments; residents who cannot attend or do not feel comfortable speaking in public, but would like to share their input can use that link to submit comments which will be shared at the forum.