New York
New York State officials do everything to prevent from the spread of COVID-19 as the holidays approach
By 
Local reporter
New York – Hospitalizations in many Upstate New York regions are at a higher rate than they were one year ago.
In January, holiday gatherings caused a wave of hospitalizations.
In order to prevent another jump in holiday-related hospitalizations, officials have expanded eligibility for booster shots to New Yorkers.
The partial vaccination rate is currently 76% for the state.
Officials have not enforced any other pandemic restrictions like mask mandates, while the expansion for booster shots has been deployed. They hope residents will take charge in closing the herd immunity gap.
According to Governor Kathy Hochul, she is still letting local governments handle local COVID response, but threatened to step in if it does not improve.
Upstate faces positivity rates between 5% and 9%, while New York City and surrounding counties are between 1% and 3%.
Despite masks are not required anymore, the rate of voluntary use is far greater in lower New York State regions compared to upstate.
If the rate of positivity does not stabilize, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz has threatened mask mandates again.
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