Cattaraugus County Public Health Director Dr. Kevin D. Watkins had one word to describe the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic: “Tumultuous.”
More than 150 Cattaraugus County residents have died from COVID-19 during 2021.
On Dec. 23, 2021, after almost two years, the county’s COVID-19 death toll stood at 207, while case numbers were 11,488.
“It has just been a rocky road.” Watkins told the Times Herald in late December. “It’s had its highs and lows.”
The highs were in June and July when cases were in the single digits or none at all on some days. The lows have been every day someone dies a premature death from the virus. There have been as many as eight deaths reported
In one day. Those outcomes also take a toll on families, hospital staff and at the health department, Watkins said. “We’ve had no break here at the health department. We have to meet demand” for testing, vaccination clinics and now boosters. There is also the notifying residents of test results, and making wellness calls for active cases and those in contact quarantine.
For several weeks last month, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties were among the highest in COVID-19 testing positivity.
“This has taken a toll on our community,” Watkins. “It has taken a toll on our staff” known as COVID fatigue.
In the second year of the coronavirus pandemic, more than 8,700 county residents contracted the virus, up from 2,621 people who developed COVID-19 in 10 months in 2020.
Like the number of cases, the death toll will go higher before the end of the year. When the number of cases increase, so do the number of serious illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths.
The most recent variant, Omicron, has been found to be high transmissible, but may be milder than Delta.
The year 2021 started off promising, as groups of eligible people stepped up for their first dose of the vaccine. With local supplies limited, some people went to great distances to get their first jab — Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse for example. Then supplies improved and the Cattaraugus County Health Department was able to offer additional vaccine clinics.
As most everyone age 18 and older became eligible, interest in COVID-19 vaccine — designed to prevent serious illness and death — began to lag.
Over the summer, vaccines became available for ages 12-18, and later for ages 5-11. Clinical trials are continuing for ages 2-5.
In Cattaraugus County, the vaccination rate stood at 63.6% of those age 18 and older and 54.1% of the entire population on Dec. 20. That’s 38,087 people who have completed their vaccine series out of a population of just over 76,000 and 41,558 people with at least one vaccine dose.
That left thousands of unvaccinated individuals who caught the wave of the Delta variant this Fall as cases skyrocketed.
The highly contagious and transmissible Delta variant coincided with the discovery that the vaccine’s efficacy was waning over time — around six months after a second shot of Pfizer and Moderna. This led to “breakthrough” cases where people who were “fully vaccinated” developed COVID-19.
Many of the nearly 2,000 cases in November were breakthroughs, although the unvaccinated made up the vast majority of new cases. The first day of December started off with 100 new cases and a record eight deaths.
Even with the new, even more highly transmissible Omicron variant that first showed up in South Africa, people with two doses of vaccine and a booster are still likely to avoid serious illness, hospitalization and death, health officials say.
For those on the fence about getting vaccinated, it’s not too late to register for a first dose of the vaccine on the health department’s website.
Appointments for vaccinations can be made through the Cattaraugus County website by visiting: https://www.cattco.org/covid-vacc-info or call the COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline at (716) 701-3777 if you need assistance.
To register for a free COVID-19 diagnostic test through the county health department, go online to:
The county’s first COVID-19 case was a man from the northeast part of the county who was diagnosed March 27, 2020. The county’s 25th cases of COVID-19 died on April 20, 2020.
On Dec. 31, 2020, the county recorded its 50th death. At that same time, there had been 2,621 cases of COVID-19. Dec. 2020 would hold the record in the number of cases at 1,427 until November when nearly 2,000 cases were reported.
As cases began declining in June 2020 and vaccinations climbed, mask rules were relaxed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC began recommending that only those who were unvaccinated needed to wear a mask indoors in public.
Then, case numbers started to climb through the summer, mask wearing was uncommon — even among the unvaccinated.
Since students returned to school in the Fall, 635 have tested positive for COVID-19, along with 226 teachers and staff. The actual number is higher because Olean City Schools latest numbers were not included in the latest state Report Card.
As the Delta variant became responsible for more cases in the late summer, it also began to claim more lives. Western New York was showing the highest rate of positive cases to the number of daily tests. Cattaraugus County often led the state in daily positivity, along with Allegany County, which has a lower vaccination rate.
On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Erie County Executive Mark Polencarz imposed a mask requirement in response to rising COVID-19 rates in Western New York. Cattaraugus County legislators said they would not follow suit despite having a higher positivity rate. The mask requirement has been credited with lowering the number of illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths.
In early December, Gov. Kathy Hochul imposed a mask requirement indoors in nearly all buildings except private homes.
In responseCattaraugus County lawmakers sent a mixed message. While they emphasized they supported vaccines and wearing masks, the health department did not have the resources to enforce the state mask mandate.
In county buildings, the only ones who are required to wear a mask are the unvaccinated.
Several businesses have criticized county lawmakers for not backing the mask mandate in the face of rising COVID-19 cases and the new Omicron variant.