When newscasters are talking about COVID-19 records, it is bad news. Unfortunately, there are a lot of coronavirus records nationally, and locally, these days. Nearly 100,000 people are hospitalized across the country as of Dec. 1, a new U.S. record. Locally, 176 people are hospitalized across eight Capital Region hospitals. Albany County announced 159 new COVID-19 cases Dec. 1, and 72 total hospitalizations, both records. Rensselaer County confirmed a record single-day high of 57 COVID-19 cases on Nov. 30, with as many as 22 coming from contacts with other positive cases in families and workplaces. On Dec. 1, Rensselaer County announced 41 more cases. There were three new COVID-19 cases announced Dec. 1 in Columbia County, while Greene County health officials again did not announce the new number of COVID-19 cases there on Dec. 1. Another student at Cairo-Durham Elementary School tested positive for COVID-19, school officials reported in an email to parents on Nov. 30. While there is hope on the horizon with vaccines coming, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo warned on Dec. 1 that the federal vaccination plan has three problems: He said there was no money for states to distribute the vaccine; he said there is not a specific plan for minority communities; and Cuomo worried that data sharing requirements could target undocumented immigrants.