More than 100 inmates at the Chautauqua County Jail were the recipients of a COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday. The county received an aollment of the one-dose shot. P-J file photo

More than 100 inmates at the Chautauqua County Jail were administered a COVID-19 vaccine this week.

Sheriff James Quattrone said the county received an allotment of the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine earmarked for “homebound” individuals. The shots had to be administered within seven days, so the decision was made to hold a clinic inside the county jail’s medical unit Tuesday that included the county Department of Health and Human Services to use some of the doses.

At least 110 inmates were recipients of the allotment.

“I was supportive of this decision as many of the inmates will be released and often engage in high-risk behaviors that would or could endanger their communities,” Quattrone said. “It is unfortunate that too many end up recidivating and end up back in jail. The goal is to reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19.”

Dozens of inmates and a handful of staff at the Mayville facility tested positive for the virus at the end of November and early December.

According to the state Department of Health, slightly more than 25,000 residents within Chautauqua County have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with 10,707 residents completing their vaccination series.

With about 127,000 residents in the county, the state said 20.1% of the population has received at least one shot. While the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose, others are two-dose vaccinations.

In the past week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said 1.12 million doses have been administered statewide.

“We are making steady progress as we work through the vaccine supply, and starting today our pool of eligible New Yorkers is bigger with anyone who is 60 and over being able to sign up for an appointment,” Cuomo said in his daily update. “While we are making progress with vaccinations and the statewide infection rate has dropped significantly, we cannot afford to get cocky with this virus. We must retain our progress by continuing to be vigilant and work with local leaders to get more shots into arms.”

State Sen. George Borrello on Wednesday again called on Cuomo and state health officials to establish additional COVID-19 vaccination sites to serve Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties. The Sunset Bay Republican noted that more people from Erie County than Allegany County were vaccinated since Friday at the state’s temporary mass vaccination site at the Jamestown Community College in Olean.

“We won’t defeat this pandemic by pitting one group of New Yorkers against their neighbors,” Borrello said in a statement. “People in Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties deserve the same consideration when it comes to getting this life-saving vaccine as their neighbors and fellow New Yorkers in Erie County have. Only 15% of Allegany County residents have received their first dose of COVID vaccine, one of the lowest rates of vaccination in the state. In Erie County, 20% of residents have received at least one dose.”

The county Health Department reported only eight new confirmed cases of the coronavirus along with the 139th virus-related death. There are currently 10 people with the virus in the hospital and 315 in quarantine.

To date there have been 7,739 confirmed cases in the county and 7,480 recoveries.