By Lowell Rose Rochester
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a small portion of the population is missing out on the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I would encourage everybody in this community who’s received a single dose of Moderna or Pfizer to please go and get your second dose at your appointed time,” said Monroe County Executive Adam Bello.
What You Need To Know
Data from the CDC shows a small portion of the population is missing out on the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine
Adam Bello is pushing people to continue their vaccine series
The state-run Dome Arena site is allowing walk-ins only for those 60 and older.
The news comes as providers across the region cite increasing difficulty in filling appointments, leading to a sharp drop in the vaccine allotted to the Finger Lakes region over the past two weeks.
Area hospitals have requested markedly fewer doses, officials said, fueling the falloff. The resulting allotment of 23,910 doses is the smallest shipment since mid-February, and is down from an average 37,000 weekly in the two months since.
“Even though the light at the end of the tunnel is brighter now … it is clear the initial enthusiasm for the vaccine is beginning to wane,” said Monroe County Public Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Mendoza.
PHOTO BY MAX SCHULTE A group steps off a shuttle bus to Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Corn Hill to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The pop-up vaccination clinic there was part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan for “fairness and equity” in vaccine distribution. The church’s congregation is predominantly black.
Racial disparities in health were already a problem before COVID-19 blazed its way through communities across the country. But by grafting itself on the timeworn patterns of inequity, COVID-19 propelled them into the public consciousness like they had never been before.
In Monroe County, the statistics have been alarming. Black and Latino patients have been diagnosed at a rate close to double that of white patients, according to a November analysis by the Center for Community Health & Prevention at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Ruth Turner, former RCSD administrator, named to Board of Regents
Former Rochester City School District administrator Ruth Turner has been appointed to fill the final year of T. Andrew Brown s term on the Board of Regents, the board announced Tuesday.
Brown resigned earlier this year, leaving a vacancy in the two-person Rochester delegation. Turner will replace him in officially representing the eight-county area, while Wade Norwood, also of Rochester, remains as an at-large representative.
Turner is an RCSD graduate who began her career in education as a social worker and rose to become the district s chief of student support services and social-emotional learning. She oversaw the support of the most vulnerable students and also was a key driver of RCSD s turn toward restorative practices, including rewriting the student code of conduct.
REPORT: Finger Lakes schools were able to remain open, infection-free thanks to safety measures
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By collaborating to create local safety measures, K-12 schools across the Finger Lakes region were able to remain open and secure for students during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report released today.
Issued by the Finger Lakes Reopening Schools Safely Task Force, the interim report summarizes the task force’s work since its formation in July 2020. As part of its ongoing efforts to reopen schools, the group sent a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo asking for more clarity on the metric indicators required for schools to open more fully for in-person learning, along with a copy of its interim report.