Albany County health commissioner applauds vaccine approval

Albany County Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen is applauding the FDA’s decision to give full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

She says no one is immune to the coronavirus, and health experts want to make sure people are protecting themselves.

Whalen is pleading with anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated to do so immediately.

“I would tell people that COVID is a serious illness. If we looked to areas that are under-vaccinated across the country, we see significant morbidity and mortality. That can be avoided. This is preventable, because we know that the vaccine can really prevent against those more serious complications of COVID,” she said.

As of Sunday, just under 69% of Albany County’s population has gotten at least the first dose.