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Rising COVID-19 cases across the country have officials racing to vaccinate Westchester communities

The latest numbers from the state Department of Health show 981 New Yorkers tested positive for coronavirus on July 15, and Westchester County alone has 47 new cases.

News 12 Staff

Jul 17, 2021, 12:44 AM

Updated 1,253 days ago

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The latest numbers from the state Department of Health show 981 New Yorkers tested positive for coronavirus on July 15, and Westchester County alone has 47 new cases.
Health department data also show the Mid-Hudson region's seven-day average percentage of positive test results has been steadily creeping up.
On July 13 it was 0.82%, July 14 it was 0.90%, and by July 15, it had jumped to 0.93%.
According to the CDC, a little more than 56% of Americans 12 years old and up are fully vaccinated.
Health experts say the biggest cause of the uptick in COVID cases is spread among people who are unvaccinated.
"This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said. "We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage because unvaccinated people are at risk and communities that are fully vaccinated are generally faring well."
Another reason for the spike in cases is believed to be the more transferable delta variant.
The increase in coronavirus cases has prompted Los Angeles County to reinstate its indoor mask mandate.
Back in Westchester, County Executive George Latimer says they are not considering a mask mandate now.
The county instead is focused on targeting ZIP codes with low vaccination rates in communities like Mount Vernon and Peekskill.
As the deadly virus continues to spread across the country, it has now become a race to vaccinate as many as possible.