Greene County leaders express concern over dropping vaccination registration
CATSKILL, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- What was once a flood of people crowding Greene County’s vaccination pod has slowed to barely a trickle Wednesday.
"We were planning to do 720 vaccinations today, however we only had 137 people sign up," says Greene County Emergency Manager Dan King.
County leaders say it’s been a growing trend the last few days and weeks — too many doses without enough people to give them to.
"I’m surprised at how quickly the vaccination uptick has dropped off. We only have about 30 percent of the Greene County population vaccinated at this point. I didn’t expect a drop off until after we were at about 60 percent," King says to NEWS10's Mikhaela Singleton.
"I’m stumped as to why this many people are still not being vaccinated, that concerns me," says County Administrator Shaun Groden.
Groden says he’s also worried about another case spike following Easter and Spring Break.
"I knew a lot of people who were in Florida last week for the Easter break, you know we’re only a few weeks away from Memorial," he says.
He says they may not know what’s causing low turnout, but they’re looking for a solution. One option may be a marketing campaign.
"We’re looking for the catchphrase you know, the jingle if you will, like I got the shot," says Groden.
He also says the county is working on meeting people where they’re at to vaccinate on the spot at schools or local businesses.
"We have many resorts here in the county, so we are reaching out to the resorts who at this point appear to plan on re-opening for the summer season," explains Groden.
He says all counties are also waiting on the governor’s office to declare what percentage officially crosses into "herd immunity" and less restrictions.
"We want people to get in and get their shots so we can start traveling again, so we can open up the schools again, so we can get back to some kind of normality," says King.
"Just get it. Just get the shot and be done with it," Groden says simply.