Dr. Georgeson Warns Oneonta Common Council About New Variant

Last night the Oneonta Common Council held their regular meeting at City Hall where it was announced that Governor Andrew Cuomo had ended most COVID restrictions after 70% of adults in New York State had been vaccinated for the virus.

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While there's reason to celebrate that achievement in our state, a presentation to the Common Council by Dr. Diane Georgeson who is Oneonta's Public Health Officer, contained both good news and some concerning information related to COVID-19 according to AllOTSEGO.

Dr. Georgeson talked about how in Oneonta and Otsego County, things are improving where COVID-19 is concerned. With that said, she noted that 53% of Oneonta residents are fully vaccinated at this point. That's not exactly a high mark for the city when it comes to preventing the spread of the virus moving forward. That makes the Oneonta vaccination rate lower than the New York State average. Even so, cases numbers continue to go down.

Currently, in Otsego County, according to the Otsego County Department of Health, as of yesterday, there were only 3 active cases known in the county with 1 person hospitalized from complications from the virus.

A concern brought up in Georgeson's report was regarding a COVID-19 variant called the Delta variant (also known as B.1.617.2) which came out of India. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention says that this variant is highly transmissible and can cause more severe symptoms, but so far, the COVID-19 vaccines appear to be effective against Delta. We all know the pandemic isn't over and that it makes sense to keep a watchful eye on variants that come out. Booster shots are something we may all be looking at before the year is over.

At last night's meeting, Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig said this of Dr. Georgeson and her role as Oneonta's Public Health Officer, “She has helped guide us through the last 15 to 16 months. She embedded herself here in the city structure and we all depended on her.”

To get the latest COVID-19 information visit www.otsegocounty.com.

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.