ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — State Department of Health officials tell The Associated Press that only a tiny fraction of vaccinated New Yorkers have tested positive for COVID-19 as infections and hospitalizations rise. Department spokesperson Abigail Barker said Tuesday that at least 8,700 vaccinated people have tested positive for COVID-19. That’s out of the nearly 11 million New York residents who are fully vaccinated. And it’s also a fraction of the 244,000 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in New York since April 1. Officials say no vaccine is perfect, meaning fully vaccinated people occasionally will get infected. Still, health officials are urging the public to get vaccinated at a time when the highly contagious delta variant is spreading and hospitalizations are rising.
Photo: FILE – In this Wednesday, April 14, 2021, file photo, a Northwell Health nurse vaccinates a Local 28 Sheet Metal Worker with the first dose of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)