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Older New Yorkers, Police, Firefighters, Teachers May Get Vaccine Starting On Monday
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Jan 8, 2021
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Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Jan 8, 2021
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After days of pressure from New York City officials, Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday said the state would open up coronavirus vaccinations to group 1B in the state's vaccination rollout, which includes New Yorkers older than 75, along with critical municipal workers, including police, firefighters and teachers, beginning on Monday.
New York state is currently allowing immunizations for group 1A, a broad range of health care workers as well nursing home residents and staff, which adds up to a little more than 1 million New Yorkers. The pool of total eligible vaccine recipients in 1A and 1B adds up to 4 million people.
Like other parts of the country, New York has had a sluggish rollout of the vaccine at a time when the virus—and potentially a more contagious variant—is raging across the state. On Friday, the state recorded more than 8,500 total coronavirus hospitalizations and 161 fatalities, the highest levels since the spring.
But the governor suggested that the state's careful and deliberate plan was because the vaccine is a valuable commodity that should be distributed according to need and racial equity.
"This is a crisis," he said, during a press conference in Albany. "Everyone needs it and we will do it fairly."
Beginning on Monday, those individuals who are eligible can make a reservation online to get a vaccine at one of the qualified providers, according to Cuomo. (The reservation website has not been provided yet.)
A total of 1,200 pharmacies statewide have committed to distributing the vaccine, of which 500 will be ready to deliver shots by next week.
Cuomo said that while shots will be permitted to the new group starting on Monday, healthcare workers will still be prioritized.
He also said he expects the vaccinations for groups 1A and 1B to take 14 weeks, lasting until mid-April. He warned that many should not expect to get a reservation immediately. He said his own mother would likely have to wait weeks.
In the days leading up to the governor's decision, local officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, complained that the state has been overly stringent and controlling of vaccine distribution, resulting in reports of unused doses sitting in freezers and even one Albany nursing home that was reportedly forced to throw out leftover vaccines.
"This is really dangerous," de Blasio said at his morning press conference. "If we can't vaccinate the people who are most danger, we're going to lose lives we did not need to lose."
Citing the refusal of some health care workers to get immunized, de Blasio has argued that local governments should be allowed to offer vaccines to seniors—who are most vulnerable to developing severe illness from COVID—as well as important frontline municipal workers.
New York City has already opened more than 100 vaccine hubs. On Sunday, the city also opens two mass vaccination centers at Brooklyn's Army Terminal and the the Bathgate Industrial Park in Morrisania in the Bronx that will operate 24/7.
Next Wednesday, the state will open its first mass vaccination sites at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.
Despite blistering criticism from de Blasio and others, Cuomo continued to blame hospitals for the slow vaccination effort. He also castigated New York City, which has vaccinated only 13% of its health care workforce, according to the state.
The governor initial said the state would punish hospitals with unused allocations by reallocating those vaccines. But on Friday, he backed off that threat and said that instead officials would withhold further supplies.
"New York City is lowest number but also of the greatest density so we’re concerned," he said.
The squabble over moving ahead with more vaccinations this week produced an uncomfortable standoff between de Blasio and Cuomo, who have publicly disagreed over key policies during the crisis. But amid growing evidence that the state's plan was not working, the mayor appeared to gain the upper hand.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Thursday called on states to loosen restrictions and simply vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible. And just prior to Cuomo's announcement, the city's public advocate, Jumaane Williams, called on the mayor to ignore the state law and proceed with vaccinating elderly city residents.
De Blasio wasted no time in announcing that the city was prepared to begin vaccinating newly eligible New Yorkers on Monday.
"New York City has heard enough," he said.
Tagged
COVID-19
coronavirus
vaccinations
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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