Over 70% of Onondaga County’s adults have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. County Executive Ryan McMahon said it’s a milestone in their vaccination efforts. The county has stopped holding mass vaccination clinics at the OnCenter and is primarily holding pop-up events in under-vaccinated communities.
While well over half of Onondaga County residents have built up some immunity to the virus, McMahon said there is still work to do.
“You know we’ve made some ground in some of these areas. But we have communities that are 67% vaccinated and then we have some communities that are still in the 30s, in some of our city zip codes,” said McMahon. “So we’ve got work to do still there. That’s where we’ll go.”
Many city zip codes still have vaccination rates below 40%. McMahon said they are also trying to raise the rate in Skaneateles Falls, Salina, and some rural areas. Even though the county is still ongoing in its vaccination efforts, the spread of the coronavirus in the community is declining.
.@OnondagaCounty Covid 19 update 34 new cases. We have 294 active cases. We have 34 residents in the hospital with 6 residents in the ICU. We have over 70% of 18+ vaccinated. Happy to report NO new Deaths. The VACCINE Works, be a credible messenger and lets end this pandemic.
— County Executive Ryan McMahon (@CEJRyanMcMahon) May 26, 2021
Onondaga County had 260 active COVID-19 cases Thursday, which McMahon said is the lowest it’s been in some time. He said the community is doing better and turning a corner on the pandemic. So, he’s calling on businesses to bring people back to the workplace.
“Psychologically it’s tough. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve been through a lot of trauma. A lot of fear. A lot of anxiety. But we’ve accomplished so much. And now the next step for us to recover, is we got to take the next step forward. That means we got to get our downtowns, our main streets alive again,” said McMahon
He’s encouraging any business with questions about the safest way to bring their employees back to reach out to his team. More information on health restrictions and vaccine availability can be found on the county’s website.