Emergency Operations

I recently officially announced the activation of our Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to assist our Office for the Aging with managing the Senior COVID-19 Vaccine Waitlist. I want to be clear with all of you, I consider this pandemic and the vaccine rollout to be a serious emergency, akin to Hurricanes Sandy, Floyd or any of the major snowstorms and weather events which have caused the EOC to be activated in the past.

This is an all-hands-on deck moment when we in government must do everything in our power to assist and protect the people we serve. Our Office for the Aging and Office of Fire and Emergency Services are directly involved along with staff from 19 other County Departments. On average we have 25 team members a day fielding calls and answering questions.

We are doing all we can to protect those who are most at-risk from this disease, particularly now that there is a vaccine which offers significant protection against severe illness and hospitalization. And I ask this rhetorical question, what purpose does government serve if not to help those who are in need?

And we are making progress on two fronts. We have had more than 11,000 Rockland seniors sign up for assistance and our Office for the Aging has booked around 1,000 vaccination appointments so far. We also have set up agreements with several local pharmacies to take people from our list when they receive vaccine from New York State.

The availability of vaccine has been the main hold up in this process, particularly with the severe weather the country dealt with last week which delayed almost all shipments. But we are making progress, more than 12.81% of County residents had received their first dose of vaccine. This number may be a little higher as some providers are better than others at regularly inputting this data.

This number is displayed on our Dashboard Hub page, accessible via www.RocklandGov.com. That page also has a link to the NYS Vaccine Tracker which shows this information for every county in New York.

We know many are anxious, worried, and even scared. When we look beyond the necessary mandate to vaccinate health care, first responders and essential workers, we are trying our level best to logically accommodate and vaccinate our residents specifically and narrowly based on the assessment of our Health Department professionals. No more, no less.

But the fact is no matter what category of eligibility one may be in, many are going to focus on their group first. It is understandable and I get that. What I am going to ask of all is to take pause and consider those around you like the good neighbors I know you all are.

I myself am a senior with a comorbidity (prostate cancer which is thankfully in remission). I am twice eligible under the NYS guidelines and nearly three months later I have not yet sought a vaccine for myself. Why?

To be clear, I believe these vaccines to be safe and effective and look forward to getting one. But when I look around at my friends and neighbors who are also eligible – when I hear from an 85-year-old with respiratory issues – I understand that maybe that person needs this vaccine more than I do. Given the dynamics of the virus I recognize that may not be logical, my fiancée and family certainly disagree with me. But I believe strongly that it is right to consider those dynamics.

Look, we are all at risk from this disease, but the fact of the matter is that the older you are and the more underlying conditions you face, the more deadly this disease can be. And we will make best judgements based on those dynamics and the practical conditions we are facing.

We continue to ask everyone to please be patient. We are doing the best we can locally to help you navigate this confusing New York State process and picking up the slack wherever we can. We will get through this together, by acting as good neighbors and at times, putting others first.