Only 4,000 vaccines have been given across New York state since Monday despite Gov. Cuomo promising to do 10,000 on the first day and vowing to have the best vaccination plan in America.
At Cuomo’s press conference on Wednesday, he told proudly how phase II of the vaccine distribution program in New York would begin at the end of January, with essential workers and ‘priority’ members of the public having access to it.
The state has a population of more than 19.4million. There are currently 6,000 people in the hospital with COVID and since March, 27,998 have died in New York State from the virus.
Cuomo, in his slideshow on Wednesday, gave detailed slides of how regional distribution centers would have to submit plans for approval by January 1 before being able to give out doses of the vaccine at the end of the month, so long as a shipment of vaccines comes from Moderna before then as it’s meant to on December 22.
On Monday, Cuomo said: ‘We have 170,000 doses from Pfizer, 346,000 from Moderna, we have 90 distribution sites. Today we’re in the process of administering 10,000 vaccines.’
But Cuomo’s health commissioner revealed only 4,000 had been done so far.
What’s more, the state only has 87,000 of the initial 170,000 it claimed it would receive in the first batch of doses from the federal government.
At the pace the state is currently moving at, it’ll take more than 50 days to get through the first 87,000 doses and those are only enough to vaccinate 43,500 people, with every person requiring two doses.
It would take seven years to give even half the population if NYC their first injection let alone a full inoculation.
ICU nurse Sandra Linsday becomes the first person in New York and the USA to get the vaccine on Monday December 14. This was one of only 4,000 vaccinations that have been done across the state since then
Cuomo said on Wednesday that it would take between six and nine months before the vaccine would start to have an effect on COVID numbers
What’s likely contributing to the slow down is that healthcare workers are currently receiving the vaccines and they’ll be the ones responsible for giving them to everyone else.
The slow timeline emerged as Cuomo said it would take between six and nine months of vaccinating the public for it to start having an effect on COVID numbers.
‘It’s a foot race over a six to nine month period. We have to get the vaccination out as soon as we can. That will bring the COVID rate down,’ he said.
The vaccine is currently being rolled out the state to nursing home staff and residents and healthcare workers.
Then, healthcare systems will give them out across the state to essential, non-health workers – transit staff, grocery store workers etc – along with the most at-risk members of the general public.
Cuomo says that’ll happen at the end of January and that it’ll be ‘totally free’ for everyone.
But before then, he is warning a total shutdown is possible because COVID is still on the rise across the state, in some areas at double the rate than in others. In the Finger Lakes, the test positivity rate is more than 8.1 percent but in New York City, it’s 4 percent.
In New York City is also varies from 2.77 percent in Manhattan to more than 5 percent in Staten Island.
New York State is also the 47th worst affected by COVID in the country but has some of the strictest restrictions and has since the start of the pandemic.
On Tuesday, there were 96 COVID deaths across the state and more than 6,000 are in the hospital. At the virus peak, more than 800 were dying every day and 18,000 were in the hospital in New York.
On Tuesday, there were 96 COVID deaths across the state and more than 6,000 are in the hospital. At the virus peak, more than 800 were dying every day and 18,000 were in the hospital in New York
Despite cases going up, people are not dying at nearly the same rate across the state or in NYC
Nearly three quarters (74 percent) of the new cases are coming from at-home gatherings.
Bars and restaurants – which are closed for indoor dining in NYC because of COVID and closed for outdoor dining because of the looming snow storm – only accounts for 1.34 percent of the new cases.
Cuomo said on Wednesday that a total shutdown was ‘of course’ on the cards but not if people change their behavior now.
‘Nobody knows what New Yorkers will do between now and Christmas and how they’ll act on Christmas week.
‘The numbers aren’t pre-destined- they’re a reflection of what we do.
‘A helpful warning is saying if we don’t do anything different, you could see a shut down probably in January but that’s if all the numbers go up the answer to that equation is don’t have the numbers go up.
‘Call me a foolish optimist but I think New Yorkers are capable of getting us to the point where there is no shut-down. New Yorkers are that good, that that can happen.
‘I believe it’s possible there’s no shut down….we might not have a shut-down, period, and we might save lives,’ he said.
He added that he thinks people will be stricter over Christmas and Hanukkah than they were over Thanksgiving and that the sharp rise in cases from Thanksgiving frightened the public.
New York State has so far received an initial allotment of 87,000 vaccines from Pfizer and a second delivery is due from Moderna but not until December 22.
There are more than 19million people in the state of New York and every person requires two doses of vices.
‘No person will pay a penny for a vaccination. we want people to get vaccinated. No one will pay a penny.
‘The insurers must cover any cost of vaccination.
‘We’re getting the vaccine from the federal government but theoretically say they have to pay the nurse etc.
‘We’ve put out a directive saying they have to cover that.’
Mayor Bill de Blasio has for weeks been certain that a total shut-down is imminent, despite him not being able to implement one.
He said on Wednesday morning again that he expects one in the next few weeks.
Many are already protesting the closure of indoor dining in NYC which the industry says will put thousands out of business. Above, Times Square on Tuesday