KINGSTON – Ulster County will be opening up the former Best Buy site at the Hudson Valley Mall to administer booster shots starting next month.
The county is not out of the woods yet as far as COVID-19 goes. County Executive Patrick Ryan said in the last nine days, six residents died from the deadly virus. All were not vaccinated.
“In terms of the impact and the effectiveness of vaccines, we are seeing how effective the vaccinations are. We have had about 120,000 Ulster County residents vaccinated and only a few hundred of them have been so-called breakthrough cases so that is about .2 percent of vaccinated folks are getting breakthrough. It is the cast majority of the new cases, about 85 percent of the new cases, are from unvaccinated residents,” he said.
The Hudson Valley Mall location originally opened up for vaccinations in March and has a capacity of 2,500 doses a day with parking for over 300 cars.
The Food and Drug Administration recently announced that individuals should receive a booster shot eight months after their last dose.
The county is also partnering with SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Ulster to offer vaccines to unvaccinated students by holding vaccination pods on campus.
All SUNY students looking to participate in in-person classes are requires to be vaccinated.
“Our ability to offer vaccines safely and quicky was an essential part of why Ulster County became a leader in vaccination rates,” said Ryan. “As we enter the next phase of vaccinations, I am confident that we will again be able to replicate our previous success. With the FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine, there is no reason why residents should hesitate to get vaccinated. In the coming days and weeks, we will continue to monitor the numbers and follow the science and make needed adjustments as necessary.”
Due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant, Ulster County Thursday reported 573 active cases of COVID-19, the highest number of reported cases since April 26.
Earlier this month, Ryan announced the opening of a new vaccination site at the Kingston Plaza. Located between Savonna’s Pizza and Scanlon Cleaners at 304 Plaza Road #25 in Kingston, the site is open every Friday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Appointments can be made at VaccinateUlster.com and walk-ins will be accepted.
