April 10, 2021
Dear Friends,
One month ago today, the House voted to advance President Biden’s American Rescue Plan to bolster America’s vaccination efforts, lift millions of children out of poverty and deliver direct assistance to millions of families and small businesses who need our help.
That legislative achievement, in addition to strong leadership from the Biden-Harris Administration, and most importantly thanks to the frontline health care workers who keep stepping up to get the job done, we are now delivering vaccine shots into the arms of as many as four million Americans every single day.
Just this week, our nation surpassed more than 150 million vaccinations since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, and we have now reached the milestone of 25 percent of American adults who are fully vaccinated.
Our rejuvenated vaccination effort is just the start. Needed resources are also flowing into our Capital Region communities. This week, I stood with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and local restauranteurs in my hometown of Amsterdam to push the U.S. Small Business Administration to move quickly in delivering the more than $28 billion in relief grants Congress has available to our Main Street institutions under the American Rescue Plan.
Also under that plan, an estimated $1.1 billion in direct funding will go to hundreds of thousands of householders across our region. And our local schools are slated to receive just under $220 million to help reopen classrooms while keeping our students, teachers and faculty safe.
As we celebrate these exciting markers of progress and apply the resources that are coming in towards recovery, we must not forget how much work remains unfinished.
On Thursday, I held a telephone town hall—my third of the year so far—for my constituents in New York’s 20th Congressional District to answer questions about my ongoing work in Congress and in our region to tackle this pandemic, and to hear the latest from several prominent local public health and business experts on COVID’s impact on our communities. If you were one of the more than 8,000 constituents we reached, and especially if you spoke up to ask a question, thank you.
The American Rescue Plan is one of the most important major steps we have taken as a country toward making our communities whole in the wake of the pandemic. I will continue to advocate for support to sustain businesses, workers and essential services in New York’s 20th Congressional District and throughout the state as we work toward future recovery efforts—and ensure that we all have what we need to get back on our feet.
Like all of you, I’m restless to get back to normal. But I also know—because the best science and public health experts tell me—that our only way to reach the end of this crisis is through it. Letting down our guard or cutting corners now will cause delays and greater losses. Falling short in our vaccination efforts will leave major gaps that could allow or even encourage new and deadlier variants to emerge.
We all want this pandemic to be over and done with. That means we need to find ways to stay patient and compassionate with one another. We need to continue to take our own health and safety seriously; we need as much testing and tracing as we can get; we need to get vaccines into our own arms as soon as they are available, and just as importantly we need to support others who may be feeling uncertain, to encourage them to ask good questions and get credible information so they can feel confident they are making the right decision for themselves and the people they love.
Remember: we are in this together, and together we will make it through.
As always, thank you for reading.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
Throughout this pandemic, my office and I have worked to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations on any and all COVID-19 related topics. With that in mind here is some information that may be of interest to you:
- This week, a number of sites in the Capital Region have received vaccine shipments and are available to make an appointment. In conjunction with New York’s expansion of eligibility, all vaccine appointments will be open to all residents age 16 and above.
- Below are the site locations, and websites through which New Yorkers can schedule an appointment:
- Albany
- Capital Regional Pharmacy Services, 431 New Karner Rd Bldg 4, Suite 180, Albany, NY: https://capitalregionalrx.com/covid-vaccine-appointment/
- Caring Wellness Pharmacy, 1097 Loudon Rd, Cohoes, NY: https://www.caringwellnesspharmacy.com/covid-19-vaccine
- Central Ave Pharmacy, 65 Central Ave, Albany, NY: https://www.rxalbany.com/
- Lincoln Pharmacy, 300 Morton Ave, Albany, NY: https://www.albanylincolnpharmacy.com/covid-19-vaccine
- Albany County Department of Health, Times Union Center: 51 South Pearl Street, Albany, NY: https://www.albanycounty.com/departments/health/coronavirus-covid-19/vaccine-information
- Rensselaer
- Thorpe's Pharmacy; Hoosick Falls, Inc., 24 Church St, Hoosick Falls, NY: https://www.vitals.com/pharmacy/thorpes-pharmacy-24-church-st-hoosick-falls-ny
- Young's Pharmacy & General Store, LLC, 1636 Burden Lake Rd, Averill Park, NY: https://www.averillparkpharmacy.com/
- Genoa Healthcare, LLC #20296, 260 S Pearl St, Albany, NY 12202: https://www.genoahealthcare.com/covid19/
- Rensselaer County Department of Health Clinic, Hudson Valley Community College: 80 Vandenburgh Ave, Troy: https://www.rensco.com/coronainfo/
- Saratoga
- Schenectady