As COVID continues to ravage the country, cases are trending upward in Rochester. And while the vaccination rollout began a few weeks ago, experts are worried about the amount of time it will take to protect everyone in the region — even as local leaders share plans for the next stage of distribution.
Already, according to Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, more than 27,000 healthcare workers have been vaccinated through Phase 1A of the vaccine distribution. And while around 50% of American seniors have up-to-date wills, nursing home residents are obviously quite vulnerable to COVID-19. Understandably, they’ve been among the first to receive vaccinations, as well. But when can others expect to receive their shots?
Apparently, it might take longer than many hoped. Although the trucks carrying the doses (which can take the length of two football fields to stop when traveling at 65 miles per hour) may not have had any issue getting to Rochester, it’s clear that the vaccinations aren’t happening as quickly as we’d like. County Executive Bello reported that Rochester Regional Health and URMC have collectively administered roughly 20,000 doses thus far, while the Monroe County Department of Public Health has administered around 1,200 doses. But interestingly, Rochester Regional remains among the New York State hospital systems with the fewest number of vaccinated individuals. The hospital was mentioned by Governor Andrew Cuomo for not yet using the majority of its allocated vaccinations. Earlier this week, Cuomo noted that the systems mentioned would face fines or even exclusion from future vaccine distribution if they fail to use the remaining stock they already have by week’s end. On the other end of the spectrum, URMC was on Cuomo’s list of highest-performing hospital systems for vaccine distribution.
While 20,000 vaccines may seem like a large number, experts say that the current rate will not allow us to vaccinate all residents by the end of 2021. And considering that Phase 1B hasn’t even begun yet, that’s worrying to many in the area.
That’s especially true when you consider how many new cases are cropping up. While digestive problems affect 60 to 70 million people in the U.S., the novel coronavirus is obviously getting much more attention. In Rochester alone, there have been 461 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, along with 64 more COVID fatalities reported. According to the local health department, the region’s remaining ICU capacity has dwindled to 24%, with its overall hospital capacity teetering at around 30% availability. Should the available hospital capacity dip to 10%, this would trigger a red zone designation and subsequently shutter non-essential businesses once again. Since we’re just starting to see the post-holiday case surge, there’s even more urgency to move more quickly.
According to local leaders, phase 1A involves the vaccination of about 100,000 folks in the Finger Lakes region. There’s no set date for the start of phase 1B, but it will include non-essential healthcare workers and residents over the age of 75. Phase 1C includes those with chronic conditions who are between the ages of 16 and 65. Then, phase 2 will attend to any people who were missed during the first rounds of vaccinations — after which the general public will receive their shots during phase 3.
At a press briefing this week, Governor Cuomo explained that the state receives around 300,000 vaccine doses per week (or 1.2 million each month). But since nearly 20 million New York residents each need two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, the current rate of vaccination would take two and a half years to complete. And since the newest strain of COVID-19 has already made its way to Monroe County, many of those who were counting on the vaccine to signal a return to normal daily life may be disappointed to learn that normalcy is a long way away for Rochesterians and others all across the country.
