NEWBURGH – National Nurses Day was marked on Thursday by a visit from Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D, NY-18) to Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh.
Maloney, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus and State Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson (D, Newburgh) were there to say ‘thank you’ for the work all nurses have done since the pandemic struck and to urge those people who have not been vaccinated to do so.
“We are in a race against time to beat COVID-19 variants as the virus continues to spread around the world,” said Maloney. “Getting vaccinated is the most patriotic thing you can do to help your country right now.”
Neuhaus said the county is getting back to normal, “but until we have a critical mass of residents vaccinated, variants remain a risk. We can’t let vaccine hesitancy set us back on our path to reopening.”
Orange County is lagging behind the statewide vaccination average with only 39 percent of residents having received their first dose, compared with 47 percent statewide.
The county’s points of dispensing were distributing 2,000 to 3,000 shots a day. The county says that number has dropped to around 200. Officials said vaccine hesitancy could become a roadblock on the road to herd immunity. They said the longer that takes, the more time there is for dangerous variants to arise and possibly evade vaccines.
