East Rochester Mayor John R. Alfieri announced his goal of vaccinating more than 70 of the town’s population by December 31st, 2021 in a press conference earlier this week.

“The pandemic isn’t over as soon as you are vaccinated as an individual,” he explained early Tuesday morning. “We need the community to be vaccinated. At least 70 of you guys. Come on.”

This announcement follows more than half a year of vaccine controversy within the town, with many residents insisting that only 50 people really needed to be vaccinated, and many more insisting that full herd immunity was achievable by simply letting the entire population of the town die.

At press time, East Rochester has reached 30 vaccinated individuals, with the mayor noting that they were off to a good start, assuming they could reduce their total population to 80 people.