Natasha Vaughn is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media a Columbia County woman last week lied to health officials in order to get a COVID vaccine booster, said county Health Department Director Jack Mabb, calling the incident "a game changer." At the clinic, the unidentified woman was asked if she had previously received any vaccines and said "no." Mabb said, “Unfortunately, we took her at her word. We gave her the vaccine and when we went to put her [name into the state system]... we found out that she had the vaccine back in March. She lied.” Mabb said the lie led to a change in protocol. "From here on out we’re checking [the state database] ... before we give any shot.” The woman had received two doses of a vaccine and then requested the Johnson & Johnson shot, Mabb said. “The Food and Drug Administration has authorized a third vaccination for organ transplants, people who are seriously immunocompromised...,” Mabb said. He said a second person showed up and attempted to do the same thing, but was unsuccessful because they knew to check the database. In a continuing trend, Columbia County reported 20 new cases of COVID-19 on August 16, the largest number of new cases reported over a weekend, since early April. “That’s the highest we’ve had in a long time. It’s concerning," Mabb said. "As has been the case, the vast majority are unvaccinated people.” Mabb said there are five county residents currently hospitalized because of the virus, one of whom is on a ventilator. Four of the five hospitalized are unvaccinated; the fifth is an older vaccinated person with comorbidities. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.