Covid vaccines will be available at Orleans, Genesee fairs

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 July 2021 at 10:16 am

2 local counties continue to lag behind state vaccination rate

The Genesee and Orleans County health Departments will both have Covid-19 vaccines available at the county fairs in both communities this coming week.

“The fair is a perfect place to reach members of our community and this is a great opportunity for residents that have not been vaccinated yet, to conveniently get vaccinated while they are visiting the fair,” said Paul Pettit, public health director in the two counties.

The vaccine schedule includes:

Orleans County Fair

Tuesday, July 27, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 28, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 29, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Friday, July 30, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 31, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Genesee County Fair

Monday, July 26, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 27, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 28, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 29, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Friday, July 30, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The vaccines will be available for free at both fairs. The one shot Johnson and Johnson will be available as well as the two-dose Pfizer vaccine. The second dose of Pfizer will be scheduled at the health department in each county.

The Pfizer vaccine is authorized for those that are 12 and older, while the Johnson and Johnson vaccine can be administered to people that are 18 and older. Everyone under the age of 18 seeking vaccination must have a parent or guardian with them to provide permission.

“The vaccination rates in both Genesee and Orleans counties are slowly increasing, but we are still lagging behind New York State,” Pettit. “The majority of the cases we are seeing in both counties are people that are unvaccinated.”

The federal CDC reports percent of New York residents 18 and older with at least one vaccine shot to be 74.3 percent. In Orleans, 54.2 percent of those 18 and older have had at least one vaccine shot, while 61.6 percent have had at least one shot in Genesee.

Anyone who is interested in being vaccinated can stop by the county emergency preparedness and health department trailers and choose the vaccine that is best for them, the local health departments said.

“There is a lot of misinformation out there about the vaccines, so health department staff will be available to answer any questions or concerns that residents have,” the health departments said in a news release.

The local health departments reported on Thursday there were 4 active Covid cases in Orleans and 5 in Genesee. On July 15, there were 9 active cases in Orleans and 5 in Genesee. On July 8, there was 1 active case in Orleans and none in Genesee.