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NY Expanding COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility

Sandra Lindsay, left, a registered nurse and Director of Critical Care at Northwell Health, is the first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, December 14, 2020
Scott Heins for the Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo
Sandra Lindsay, left, a registered nurse and Director of Critical Care at Northwell Health, is the first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, December 14, 2020

New Yorkers 65 and older and those who are immunocompromised can now sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine. Governor Andrew Cuomo made the announcement as the state’s vaccine rollout continued to be plagued with problems.The Democrat says he’s reluctant to add the new category of New Yorkers now because there aren’t enough vaccines yet for front line workers and residents who are older than 75. But he says the Centers for Disease Control now says those 65 to 74 should also be given priority, and he wants New York to obey those guidelines.

“I don't want New Yorkers to think that we are not doing everything we can to make them eligible for the vaccine, because I want to keep people in New York as calm as we can keep people in these anxious times,” Cuomo said. “And I don't want people to think that people in any other state are eligible when they're not.”

Those with compromised immune systems will also be eligible, but Cuomo says the state will need a little time to define exactly what that means, since the federal government does not specify what conditions are included.

People who are age 75 and up and a much longer list of workers, including transit employees, grocery clerks, teachers, police officers, firefighters and others became eligible to get the vaccine Monday.

Under the new rules, 7 million New Yorkers are now eligible for the vaccine. The state is receiving just 300,000 doses a week from the federal government.  The state’s hotline and website to coordinate vaccination appointments continues to be overwhelmed and plagued by problems, with reports of people spending hours on hold, only to have the connection cut, or unable to access the on line sign up portals.

On Tuesday afternoon, Cuomo said more than 665,000 doses had been administered in New York. That’s an increase of roughly 60,000 since Monday, according to the governor.

Karen DeWitt is Capitol Bureau chief for New York State Public Radio, a network of public radio stations in New York state. She has covered state government and politics for the network since 1990.
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