Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz is giving is regular COVID-19 briefing Monday. Watch it live here at 2:30 p.m.
Poloncarz talked about how COVID vaccinations are starting to be a needle in an arm, as healthcare workers and nursing home patients have begun getting shots. How many have occurred is a mystery. He said state and federal governments are keeping the success rate quiet, but counties need to know.
Poloncarz said Albany has to take its thumb off vaccine control and let local governments work.
"They’ve created the vaccination hubs. We need the vaccination hubs to be able to make the determination for our region. We can do it. We’re proving today that we can mass vaccinate a lot of individuals in a short period of time. We’ll do it again tomorrow. I hope New York State gives us those 75-hundred doses that are promised," he said
Those are supposed to show up later this week.
On Monday and Tuesday, Erie County Health Department workers are giving 1,500 shots in the first round of the Moderna vaccine. Poloncarz said 809 were vaccinated Monday, with another 790 scheduled for Tuesday.
The vaccine came from refrigerators at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, as local hospitals are switching around the available supply to get them into arms as fast as possible, with Albany monitoring. The county executive also reminded residents that "it'll be months before the general public can get vaccinated."
