The science surrounding a new virus is, of course, ever-evolving, which is why the expertise of a health department is needed as a trusted authority. Misinformation fills the vacuum.

Well over a third of the county residents infected with COVID-19 between Aug. 2 and 6 were vaccinated against the virus.

Edwin David Hamilton, who worked in construction and loved nature, died peacefully at home on Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, after a long and tenacious battle with cancer. He died the day after he turned 59.

He was born in Albany on Aug. 7, 1962, to Arthur and Betty Weyant Hamilton, the youngest of their eight children.   

Nancy Sager Halpert, a librarian who cared deeply about her family and many friends, died peacefully and in the comfort of her family on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. She was 97.

ALTAMONT — Camp Wildwood is receiving $25,000 from the state.

Wildwood School provides special education to over 200 students living with autism and other developmental disabilities in the Greater Capital Region and the half-century-old camp, on Leesome Lane, on the outskirts of Altamont, is its summer extension program.

The “vast majority” of the vaccinated cases infected with COVID-19 between Aug. 2 and 6 were young adults, said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy. “Six vaccinated infections were from the 10- to 19-year-old age range,” said McCoy. Vaccine is not authorized for anyone under age 12.

Local school superintendents were taken aback last Thursday when the state’s health commissioner summarily announced his department would be providing no guidance for the opening of schools in the midst of a surge of COVID-19 cases.

The United States is now averaging over 100,000 new cases of COVID-19 a day, which hasn’t happened since February, the CDC noted on Monday. The seven-day average of new cases has doubled in the last two weeks as has the death rate.

Albany County is nearing an infection rate of 5 percent as 80 new cases of COVID-19 were reported Saturday.

Guilderland is “strongly encouraging” face masks be worn indoors and Albany County, starting Monday, will require anyone in a county building to be masked — both regardless of vaccination status.