NY Coronavirus Vaccine Open To People 50 And Over

LONG ISLAND, NY — With millions of New Yorkers now vaccinated against the coronavirus and an influx of doses available, New Yorkers 50 and older can receive the vaccine starting Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

Up until Monday, only New Yorkers 60 and older could be vaccinated.

While the vaccine supply hasn't increased enough yet to vaccinate all of those 50 and older in the state, Cuomo said he wants people to start making appointments so they are ready when more doses arrive.

Cuomo, speaking from the Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, announced a new vaccination center at the facility and said to date, 7 million New Yorkers have received a vaccine.

He announced the "Roll Up Your Sleeve" campaign, a partnership with faith-based facilities to vaccinate people at houses of worship. Rev. Al Sharpton joined Cuomo in announcing the campaign.

"We are fighting for our very lives," Sharpton said. "All we ask you is to come to a house of faith and roll up your sleeves — and do it for your loved ones."

The leaders stressed the importance of Black and Hispanic communities getting the vaccine. Black people are twice as likely to die of the coronavirus and Hispanic people are 1.5 times as likely to die, officials have said.

On Sunday, New Yorkers with underlying health conditions became eligible to receive the vaccine.

"New Yorkers with comorbidities are among our state's most at-risk residents, and access to the COVID-19 vaccine protects this vulnerable population as we work to defeat the virus and establish the new normal," Cuomo said. "As New York receives more doses and more people receive the vaccine, we're able to expand the population pharmacies can serve, and this is a common-sense step forward that will help make it easier to protect New Yorkers."