Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Columbia County Department of Health has reported two new COVID deaths within 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 115. The department said the two new COVID-related deaths occurred between late December 28 and early December 29. Eight people have succumbed to the virus in December. “We had two, both women, both community members, one in her 70s one was in her 50s,” Columbia County Department of Health Director Jack Mabb said. They were both unvaccinated, but they were not related, he said. “It’s heartbreaking to see that it’s unvaccinated people,” Mabb said. "...[I]t’s difficult to see a senior die and think that this could have been avoided.” He said the woman in her 50s had comorbidities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of December 29, 71.2 percent of all Columbia County residents are fully vaccinated and 87.2 percent of all county residents over 65 are fully vaccinated. All but three of the 115 people in Columbia County who have died from COVID since the pandemic began were unvaccinated, Mabb said. The county Department of Health reported 7,451 cases as of December 30, with more than 15 percent of those cases identified in December. As of Dec. 30, the county reported 102 new cases, and a total of 364 active cases. There are 22 people currently hospitalized, six in the ICU. The number of cases is expected to increase after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, Mabb said. “I think people need to think about how to keep themselves safe if they go out on New Year’s,” Mabb said. “I’m not telling them not to go, just try to make yourself as safe as you can, ..." Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.