Maloney Calls on Hudson Valley Residents to Get Vaccinated

Today, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) was joined by Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro at the Poughkeepsie Galleria Vaccination Site to urge residents to sign up to get a vaccine. This visit was part of Congressman Maloney’s ongoing efforts to encourage everyone in the Hudson Valley to get vaccinated.

“As a community, we are in a race against time to beat the variants developing as the virus continues to spread around the world. We are in a race to ensure our vaccines remain effective against this pandemic. And we are in a race to get the word out that it's absolutely essential that everyone get this vaccine. We can’t let COVID-19 escape the primary offensive strategy we've been able to deploy,” said Rep. Maloney. “Everyone has their own role to play here. Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, and come get the shot. It’s safe, and it will save your life.”

“We are in the next phase of our response,” said County Executive Molinaro. “We want to encourage people to come to the conclusion for their own health, for the health of someone they love, for the health of the community that being vaccinated is safe, it's appropriate, and it’s the next step toward reopening, a rebirth, a renewal, and getting back to what we hope is a better normal.”

The Biden administration has worked from day one to increase vaccine supply. Since taking office, the President has nearly doubled his original first 100-day vaccination goal; and we have surpassed over 200 million shots in arms. The American Rescue Plan – which delivered $57 million to Dutchess County and $21 million directly to the City of Poughkeepsie, in addition to over $14.5 billion nationwide to support vaccination efforts – has played a critical role in getting shots in arms of over half of American adults.

While vaccine demand statewide has remained relatively stable as state-run vaccination sites continued to book shots for coming weeks, locally run sites are seeing drop-offs. Last week, New York reported administering another 1.2 million vaccine doses, including 563,475 first doses. This was an 18% drop for the previous week, when nearly 1.5 million doses were given. It is anticipated that the supply of the COVID-19 vaccine will continue to outstrip demand in the coming weeks and months.

To combat vaccine hesitancy in Dutchess County and across the Hudson Valley, Rep. Maloney is redoubling outreach efforts with community organizations and local leaders. In the coming weeks, the congressman will be traveling to each county in NY-18 and connecting with community leaders to spread the word about vaccine safety and efficacy.

Photos from the event below and linked here in high resolution. Live video from the event can be found on Rep. Maloney’s Facebook page: