Southern Tier Counties Brace for COVID/ Flu Uptick

Officials in Tompkins county are alerting residents about an uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases in the community along with higher hospitalization numbers.   

Tompkins county is now on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  “COVID-19 by County” list as being of “Medium” risk of community transmission.  Also listed as “Medium” in the region are Broome, Tioga and Cortland Counties.  Chenango and Delaware are listed “Low”.   

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Meanwhile, on Friday, October 14 Broome reported three new deaths from the pandemic, bringing the total to 559.   

Broome County’s hospitalization numbers are ranging over the past week from around 60 to the mid-70s.

Broome officials had scheduled a news conference for October 17 to encourage residents to get the updated COVID-19 booster and the flu shot as soon as possible. Officials say now is the best time to get vaccinated before flu begins circulating widely and before the COVID-19 cases increase as they have over the past two autumns. 

Tompkins County Public Health Director Frank Kruppa said in a COVID-19 Update issued Friday, October 14, “We had anticipated that we could see a spike in new cases this fall, as experienced in both 2020 and 2021.”  Kruppa also encourages residents to get the flu and COVID vaccines as soon as possible to improve personal safety. 

Both flu shots and the current bivalent COVID-19 booster shots that are targeted to the latest, more contagious sub-variant of the coronavirus are available through pharmacies and many healthcare providers.  Clinics are also scheduled by several health departments in the region. 

The Broome County Health Department is having clinics for the Moderna and Pfizer bivalent COVID booster shots on Thursday, October 20 at the Central United Methodist Church on South Nanticoke Avenue in Endicott. For information and to register, go to www.gobroomecounty.com/hd/coronavirus/vaccine.