Coronavirus Update, April 9, 2021
Tompkins county has the highest vaccination rate in New York State among counties in it’s population bracket. Among all New York state counties, Tompkins comes in 2nd for it’s percentage of the population vaccinated.
45.1% of all county residents have received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Among senior citizens, 75% have received at least their first dose in the county.
Tompkins County Health Department Director Frank Kruppa told the Ithaca Voice, he believes the county’s vaccination success lies in being able to communicate immediately with a large portion of the community. This is because there are so many time sensitive components to vaccination: Doses becoming available; eligibility changes — things like this mean they need to be able to get in touch with tens of thousands of people at a moment’s notice.
Ithaca College is announcing that it will require all students returning to campus in the fall to be vaccinated against COVID-19. This announcement comes five days after Cornell University instituted the same policy.
IC President Shirley Collado emphasized that accommodations will be made for those who have medical or religious exemptions for receiving the vaccine. Collado stated she expects the “vast majority of individuals on campus to be vaccinated.
Tompkins county is reporting 9 new positive cases of COVID-19, and a total of 93 active cases.
Schuyler county has 3 new cases, a total of 26 active cases of the coronavirus.