Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz held his regular COVID-19 briefing at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Watch it live here.
Poloncarz said Erie County is continuing to expand its new policy of going out to vaccinate people where they are, instead of waiting at mass vaccination sites. The county will use Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines for in-home "Vax Visits," depending on availability.
More information about in-home vaccinations and scheduling for ages 16 and up is available by phone at 858-2929.
With Washington, DC lowering the vaccination age for the Pfizer vaccine to 12, that effort now includes vaccinators moving into schools. County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein will have a team at Lackawanna High School Wednesday for kids and parents.
"We're planning to offer special clinics for kids that are 12 and up with our Pfizer vaccine. We're also coordinating clinics with many of our school districts to make it easy for people to get vaccinated," Burstein said. "We're trying to meet people where they are and also we are working with our community pediatricians office or any primary care office that sees adolescents, and we are gladly giving them Pfizer vaccine."
Burstein noted that vaccinations will also be provided at Erie County parks and community events, adding to the pop-up clinics at senior centers, schools, village and town halls, houses of worship, plus business and workplace sites.
Poloncarz said if the virus rate drops below 100 cases per 100,000 people, that would open the door for more changes, like more school activities, including perhaps re-starting high school wrestling.
He said the county's full vaccination rate is continuing to rise, although the rate varies a lot by zip code, particularly on Buffalo's East Side. Poloncarz said over 60% of eligible residents have already received at least one vaccination dose and that demand for the shot is now declining, reflecting a nationwide trend.
The death rate also continues to rise, with April a particularly bad month.
"We're still seeing people dying in the hospital and it's very sad when we see this," Poloncarz said, "and we know that the vast majority of these individuals had not been fully vaccinated. Of the 112 COVID-19 associated deaths in the months of April and May, only three people were fully vaccinated prior to infection."
The county executive said those three also had serious health conditions.
ECDOH COVID Data by Marian on Scribd
Asked about the Erie County Fair going on this year, Poloncarz said he would only go now that he's fully vaccinated because of the crowds and because so many fair workers and vendors may be from states where the vaccination rate is very low.
"Deep-fried pickles. They're all deep-fried. Deep-fried roast beef on weck sandwiches. It's all deep-fried. But sometimes you're getting it from a vendor who may not be a New York State resident. He may not be a resident from the Northeast. He could be a resident of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, where some of their vaccination rates are exceptionally low. Gotta think twice about these large, mass events, if it's going to happen," he said.
WBFO's Mark Wozniak contributed to this story.
