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County data shows that a lower proportion of eligible Black and Latinx community members have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
They were able to vaccinate public housing residents, new Americans, Centro staff and homeless shelter employees. McMahon said without these clinics, the vaccine equity numbers would be worse.
“We are underperforming in the Latino community. And we still do have some work to do in the African-American community as well. If we did not do those pop up sites last week and this week, these numbers would be very bad. It shows that we are going to need to be intentional getting into neighborhoods moving forward,” said McMahon.
Onondaga County is exploring better ways to communicate with seniors about COVID-19 vaccine sign-ups. When they opened vaccination slots this week, County
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Officials are asking people to not hold large holiday celebrations to help communities avoid additional COVID-19 spikes.
“Reality is, is this is the most important week from a trajectory standpoint of where we are with the virus and probably the pandemic, the whole pandemic,” said McMahon.
McMahon said at this point, data is showing a decline in COVID-19 cases locally. The county reported 304 new cases Monday and 6 additional deaths. The county lost 52 community members in the past week. McMahon said the loss of life is numbing, but the good news is coronavirus vaccination is underway in nursing homes.
While Onondaga County continues to hold asymptomatic testing clinics, increase contact tracing abilities, and prepare plans for vaccinating the public, Congress left local governments out of its latest stimulus package. County Executive Ryan McMahon has long advocated for federal aid, and said he is disappointed.
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County Executive Ryan McMahon said any improvement in COVID-19 data is at risk of decline if community members do not keep holiday gatherings small.
McMahon said it’s the community’s responsibility to keep virus rates down, and no arguments can be made against economic restrictions until health data improves.
“If you can’t treat your sick, there’s no argument. And people are getting sick from something. If you don’t believe in this process, don’t believe covid is real, who are all these people getting sick” said McMahon.
“So let’s just stop the nonsense with that. Let’s take this seriously going into the week, and we’ll continue to get this curve going in the right direction.”
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County Executive Ryan McMahon said the county plans to increase coronavirus case investigators, widely test for the virus, and start its vaccine distribution plans all as COVID-19 cases and deaths rise.
McMahon said 20 people have died of the virus since Friday. The county’s infection rate is now 6.9%. Health Commissioner Dr. Indu Gupta said health precautions remain vital in the time before large scale vaccination.
“If you’re wearing face covering and following physical distancing and staying home when sick or not having get-togethers, you literally can save at least one person’s life maybe. It may not be immediately you, but that’s something. You may have seen a third person, second person.”