Name: How did Hamilton — New York's most far-flung county — vaccinate half of its residents?
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How did Hamilton — New York's most far-flung county — vaccinate half of its residents?

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateLAKE PLEASANT –&nbsp; Hamilton County, fully settled in the Adirondack Park, is famed for its summer tourism – camping at Piseco Lake, kayaking on Raquette Lake and swimming in Long Lake.It’s also known as the least populated in the state, just 4,800 residents, and home to one of the oldest populations, with 32 percent of residents being 65 years or older.And now, Hamilton County is known for something else – the highest percentage of residents vaccinated against COVID-19. As of Wednesday, the state Department of Health indicates Hamilton has successfully administered at least one dose to 48.1 percent of its residents. The next-highest counties number first doses around 30 percent of their populations.“We did a great job,” county Chairman William Farber said. “Our county health department has been working day and night. They are awesome. It was a team effort with regional support. It’s heartening the way it worked out.”Farber said the county was able to reach nearly half of its residents by creating its own plan to cover its 1,808 square miles. That was necessary, he said, because the county has no hospitals and no pharmacies. With no ready-made vaccination sites, the county decided to open them in town halls, community centers, fire departments and schools in all 10 county towns. Long Lake was an exception. It had two sites, because from top to bottom the town is 24 miles long. And all of the sites were opened not just during the day, but nights and weekends, too.“We are so huge, we are rural,” Farber said. “Nothing else would have worked as well for us. To the state’s credit, they recognized that there is not one size fits all for a county like Hamilton.”Certainly, the percentage of Hamilton County’s vaccinated residents is also impressive when compared to other rural counties in the state. For example, on Wednesday 16.9 percent of residents in neighboring Fulton County had gotten at least one dose; other rural counties with lower percentages include Greene, at 17.9 percent, and Schoharie, at 16.6 percent. On the flip side, the other lowest percentages in the state are in its most populated areas. Brooklyn has seen 14 percent of its nearly 2.6 million residents receive a first dose.Washington County Attorney Roger Wickes said that rural counties like his have many challenges that more populated areas can’t imagine, including large zones with no Wi-Fi or cell service. They also have no highways and no public transportation. He said Washington County has addressed its lag in vaccinations by partnering with neighboring Warren County on mass vaccination sites in Queensbury and signing people up over landlines. Washington County has provided a first dose to 19.5 percent of its population.“The state drives people to a website to make an appointment,” Wickes said. “A lot of our folks can’t go to a website. They have to phone it in and we register them on our computer.”Wickes said the county has also attempted to identify residents who need the vaccine through the Office for the Aging, Meals on Wheels, senior centers, and fire and police departments and town halls.“We have to network and work through alternative means,” Wickes said.It helps, Farber said, that the state is open to alternative distribution plans.“All counties have been given latitude on how to distribute vaccine, as long as they follow the eligibility requirements as defined in the guidance for the New York State COVID-19 Vaccination Program,” said Jeffrey Hammond, spokesman for the state Department of Health. “We are pleased anytime one of our partners at the county level creates a vaccination rollout program that is consistent with the state’s plan to get as many shots in the arms of New Yorkers as safely and efficiently as possible.”Certainly, it is working well in Hamilton. Amber Wamback, a volunteer firefighter in Long Lake, said she got her vaccine and worked the data entry desk at the town’s distribution point at town hall. She said the process was seamless with little wait time.“I think it’s pretty great because most of our county is elderly,” Wamback said. &nbsp;“People who came seemed really excited about it actually. It feels good."Long Lake Town Supervisor Clay Arsenault credits the county’s distribution to Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Barbara Taylor, county Director of Public Health Erica Mahoney and Farber, who worked with the state to get the vaccine. He also said that each town has many volunteers, including those from the Sheriff’s Department and first responders who greeted and checked in residents as they arrived.“It’s been a big effort with all of the supervisors in the county,” Arsenault said. “We’ve all worked hard and diligently to keep getting shots in arms. ... We’ve gotten so many compliments on how organized it was. The lines are short, we are running efficiently. It’s been a big effort, honestly. I’m proud of the county.”

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateLAKE PLEASANT –&nbsp; Hamilton County, fully settled in the Adirondack Park, is famed for its summer tourism – camping at Piseco Lake, kayaking on Raquette Lake and swimming in Long Lake.It’s also known as the least populated in the state, just 4,800 residents, and home to one of the oldest populations, with 32 percent of residents being 65 years or older.And now, Hamilton County is known for something else – the highest percentage of residents vaccinated against COVID-19. As of Wednesday, the state Department of Health indicates...

How did Hamilton — New York's most far-flung county — vaccinate half of its residents?

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