Let There Be Lights! Against All Odds, Festival Takes Flight By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com As dusk settled over Neahwa Park, Carol Mandigo wasn’t sure what to expect when she flipped the switches to turn on the Festival of Lights. What she saw were cars lined up as far as Main and River streets, waiting their turns to be driven around the 37 displays of holiday lights and decorations set up around the park. “I couldn’t believe it,”…
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2020 pandemic - Page 9
LETTER from RICHARD STERNBERG Vaccines, Part II: They Arrive I wish I had the time, stamina, and column inches to write an article daily. That’s how fast the news is coming. Since last week, Pfizer has begun distribution and vaccinations around the nation, the Moderna vaccine has been approved and it will start distribution by the time you read this, with inoculations going into arms probably by Thursday the 24th. The 350 Tier One healthcare workers from Bassett Healthcare will…
This Christmas, Hope Should Be Foremost As We Count Our Blessings, Let’s Stay The Course Last Sunday, www.AllOTSEGO was able to trumpet the news: “VACCINE HERE! 350 Bassett Tier 1 Workers Getting Shots Over Weekend.” Within hours, thousands had clicked throughto read the good news. It – the COVID-19 pandemic – is not over, but it’s on the way to being over. This happy news comes at a time when, as the Gospel of Luke had it, humanity wishes for…
December Deadliest Month, Bond Says By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com With three deaths in two weeks, four people in the ICU and 16 hospitalized, Otsego County Public Health Director Heidi Bond has declared December to be the deadliest month of the COVID-19 pandemic so far. “Three deaths in a month is the most we’ve had,” she said. “Before that, it was two in April.” The victim, a woman over 55, had not been in the ICU, but had…
In 2022, Ommegang Eyes $1M Expansion By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com Brewery Ommegang isn’t going to let a pandemic get in the way of customers enjoying Neon Rainbows – and other popular brews. “We installed a canning line two years ago,” said Rick DeBar, director of operations at the brewery. “But we’re aiming to double our capacity on the line starting next March.” The current line can fill five cans at a time; with the addition of a…
50-Car Parade Salutes Cooperstown Mainstay By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com In the midst of the 50-car drive-by celebrating Carol B. Waller’s retirement as Mohican Flowers’ proprietor, a customer stopped by looking for greens to decorate his home for Christmas. Carol and her 42-year assistant, Claire Satriano, who was also honored at the event, ducked into the store and got him what he needed. “They work until it’s done,” said Elaine Bresee, who spent three weeks organizing the parade…
VACCINES HERE By CHRYSTAL SAVAGE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com Dr. Anush Patel, Bassett Hospital’s chief of medical oncology and radiology, expressed relief on receiving the first of his two Pfizer vaccinations. “This is the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. Patel was one of 350 Tier One Bassett employees who received the Pfizer vaccine last Saturday through Monday at Arnot Ogden Medical Center, Elmira, and Faxton-St. Luke’s Campus, Utica. “People were overwhelmingly excited to receive the vaccine,”…
LETTER from RICHARD STERNBERG Vaccines, Part I: Pfizer Into The Fray Many people have asked me to explain vaccines to them, and specifically the ones for COVID-19. They are most concerned with how they work, when they will be available, and if they will be safe. Hopefully, this column will help. The terms vaccine and vaccination derive from the Latin name Variola vaccinae, which means small pox of the cow. Vacca is Latin for cow. The term vaccine was first…
With 10th Death, County ‘Overwhelmed,’ Bond Says County Staffing Increased As Deaths, COVID Infections Keep Growing By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com Help is on the way after county Public Health Director Heidi Bond lamented that her department is “overwhelmed.” “We’re barely keeping up with the cases coming in,” she said. “With contact tracing, that means you might not get a call if you’ve been identified as a close personal contact in a timely manner.” On Monday, Dec. 14,…
Hospital Awaits 1st Vaccine By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com With the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine just days away from a likely approval, Bassett Hospital is prepping to give the first vaccination to one of its healthcare workers as the New Year starts. “It will be a celebration by our organization,” said Dr. Kelly Rudd, Clinical Pharmacy technician. “It’s a way to celebrate the beginning of the end of the pandemic.” Though 170,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were shipped…