News Feature.
By Jacqueline Smith
TOMPKINS COUNTY – Tompkins County Legislature Chair Leslyn McBean-Clairborne was skeptical of the COVID vaccine at first but became one among the 50,000 residents to be vaccinated after informing herself. Having recently lost her close cousin to the virus, she now uses community platforms to encourage others to get vaccinated and continue saving lives.
Tompkins County is leading the comeback for New York, a state that especially struggled during the onset of the pandemic. The total population is 102,793 and approximately 45% of these individuals are fully vaccinated. Tompkins County reports 60.3% of its population has at least one vaccine dose, but county officials are aiming for at least 75% of the community fully vaccinated by early summer.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we hit that 70-75% mark in June,” says Dominick Recckio, Tompkins County Communications Director. “We’re gonna run up against people who are hesitant but really I expect that number to be just about where we end up.”
Recent statistics compiled by The Center for Disease Control report a total of 31,231,869 coronavirus cases in the United States and 561,356 deaths. Nationwide, 198 million total vaccines have been administered. New York state has seen 46.5% of its population with at least one vaccine dose, and 34.9% with completed vaccine series.
Tompkins County continues to share resources to contribute to the community’s unity, playing a vital role in the vaccine effort. Many individuals have shown a positive perception of the vaccine in hopes of progressing a return to normalcy. Approximately 45% of residents are fully vaccinated and 60.3% have at least one vaccine dose.
“Our community has been really resilient, and I would say our community has been really connected,” says Recckio. “We have a pretty successful and integrated mutual aid group that has set up food cabinets, works on mask donations, makes sure food is delivered to those who couldn’t leave their homes, answers questions online, supports really good discussion about everything related to COVID and making sure people have the right information.”
As of April 15, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that over 50% of all New Yorkers 18 years of age and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine. In the meantime, New York counties continue to administer vaccinations to eligible groups while statewide updates regarding eligibility and availability continue to be shared.
Tompkins County primarily relies on its registry to inform community members of COVID-19 updates. With over 30,000 people subscribers since its creation about two and a half months ago, the platform allows the health department to share resources with community members regarding COVID cases, as well as testing and vaccination opportunities.
The county has made efforts to make these resources available to communities that are vulnerable and disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, especially BIPOC members of the community.
“We’ve done a real concerted effort to get information to, and vaccinate, people of color in our community,” says Recckio. “Including specific and direct office hours with physicians who are from their communities, whether it be in different languages or reflecting those communities in those events. Hundreds of people of color were able to view and interact with office hours and virtual events with doctors who could speak to them, and who they might know. So we’ve been working sort of on every level that we can to increase that acceptance.”
The county is reliant on vaccines as their best defense against the virus, but masks are still worn to stay safe. A New York Times survey indicated 83.3% of the Tompkins County population always wears masks, while only 1.2% never wears masks.
“I’ve definitely seen people at the Walmart not wearing masks from time to time and no one says anything,” says Ian Landrigan, an undergraduate senior at Ithaca College. “But everywhere else is very strict. It is expected that you wear a mask no matter where you are on campus and people definitely will give you looks if you aren’t wearing one.”
Tompkins County’s partnership with the local hospital system, Cayuga Health System, has also allowed the county to remain updated and proactive since the pandemic’s early onset.
Cayuga Health System set up one of the first private mass testing sites in New York State at the start of the pandemic, which allowed Tompkins County to run excess numbers of tests to ensure safety in the community.
Now, the health department has mirrored this effort with their vaccine site. Both sites are available to residents at the local mall and allow for efficiency.
“That really allowed us on day one to ask New York State for more vaccine doses and receive more doses from the state,” says Recckio. “So we consistently receive more vaccines from the state, and are able to use all of our doses in part because of the efficiency, because we got ahead of it, and because of the nature of our population.”
Tompkins County has maintained a connection with townspeople through its comprehensive COVID website, which informs of virus and vaccine information. The county health department began collecting residents’ email addresses in February for those who wanted to receive local updates on the virus.
“Our community is about 100,000 people large and we’ve collected just about 30,000 people who want to be on our email list,” says Recckio. “So in the past, if the health department wanted to communicate with 30,000 people, it would’ve been really hard to do. But now, I think moving forward when we talk about all the things we try to do to keep our community healthy and safe, we now have a whole army of people who we can get information to at a moment’s notice.”
These community-wide efforts to promote safety have especially been important, as colleges plan for the upcoming fall semester. This past spring semester, both Cornell University and Ithaca College have hosted students on campus, but maintained a relatively remote approach to learning. Both universities will mandate vaccinations for students on campus and plan to return to in-person learning in the fall.
“I have been on campus both semesters this year. It has felt very safe and generally, everyone follows COVID guidelines,” shares Hannah Davis, a sophomore undergraduate student at Cornell University. “You have to reserve study spots, there are designated eating tables, and masks are worn everywhere on campus. Upon arrival, we have to quarantine until the people we are living with get a negative test result.”
Davis received her first vaccine dose in Syracuse before registration spots became increasingly available in Ithaca. Still, she felt comfortable on Cornell’s campus even before receiving her vaccination. Every student at the university is tested twice a week, while members of athletics and Greek life are tested three times a week.
The university also has a dashboard available to the public, which informs of COVID data, including testing data, vaccination data, and the state of risk present on campus. Davis feels confident in the county and university’s evolving resources and methods to stay connected with community members.
“I am really excited for next semester when COVID vaccinations are required,” says Davis. “I think that the classrooms will be at full capacity, but every student will still need to wear a mask. I believe that some people will not want to get the vaccine, and it will be permitted for religious and medical reasons. I think next year will look more like a regular college year, but still will not be what we knew in 2019.”