eizzo@adirondackdailyenterprise.com
Karen OâConnor, left, an ICU nurse from Chazy, became the first person in the North Country region to be vaccinated Dec. 15, 2020. Administering the vaccine is CVPH Nursing Director Carly Haag, right.
(Provided photo â Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital) The Essex County Health Department’s role in the fight against COVID-19 is expected to shift in the coming weeks. So far, hospitals and pharmacies throughout the North Country have been responsible for receiving and administering vaccines, which have been allocated for health care workers, nursing home residents and first responders as part of the state’s first phase of vaccine distribution. The number of people eligible to receive the vaccine is expected to broaden in the coming weeks. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said the general public could be eligible for vaccines in late January at the earliest, and the county Health Department is preparing to step in when that happens.
acerbone@adirondackdailyenterprise.com
While advising people to not gather for New Year’s Eve celebrations, Essex County public health officials say they are in the midst of seeing a “second wave” of COVID-19 cases stemming from Thanksgiving gatherings. Essex County reported 25 new cases Tuesday and 23 new cases Wednesday. Essex County Public Health Director Linda Beers said these numbers are “unprecedented.” This spike, she said, is not Christmas-related. It is the second wave of the post-Thanksgiving coronavirus spike. The virus has a two-week incubation period. Beers said gatherings on Nov. 26 resulted in spread of the virus to people who tested positive in the next two weeks. They in turn spread the virus to others around them, who began testing positive recently.
Staff Writers
acerbone@adirondackdailyenterprise.com and eizzo@adirondackdailyenterprise.com
Dr. Elizabeth Buck, right, gets her first of two COVID-19 vaccination shots administered by registered nurse Ashley Gavin at the Saranac Lake Hudson Headwaters Health Network office in the Adirondack Medical Center building on Tuesday. Buck will return in 28 days for a second dose of the vaccine.
(Enterprise photo â Aaron Cerbone) Vaccine distribution to the general population may begin in late January, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and the Franklin and Essex County health departments are preparing to run mass vaccination clinics, should the state ask counties to disseminate the coronavirus vaccine.
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Traffic on Main Street, Lake Placid, on July 28 (News photo Andy Flynn)
LAKE PLACID Tourists traveling to Lake Placid have contributed to the number of COVID-19 cases here, Essex County’s public health director confirmed Tuesday, Dec. 8. Meanwhile, the Lake Placid Central School District switched back to remote learning temporarily due to COVID cases, and the coronavirus has infected at least one worker at the village of Lake Placid. The town of North Elba which includes the village of Lake Placid, the hamlet of Ray Brook and part of the village of Saranac Lake has been a tourism hub for generations. Its proximity to the High Peaks Wilderness, its world-renowned sports reputation, the scenery and its Olympic legacy continue to draw visitors, even amid a global pandemic. The local economy relies on tourism. The town’s hotels are major employers, as are the restaurants and bars in Lake Placid that many tourists enjoy while in town.