Vaccination Eligibility Opens To Those With Comorbidities Soon

NEW YORK — Vaccine eligibility will open up to individuals with comorbidities beginning Feb. 15, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday.

Meanwhile, New York's coronavirus positivity rate continues to drop to 4.6 percent, but Long Island and the Hudson Valley remain areas of concern, he said.

Only Ulster County has a positivity rate below the state average, according to state data.

In the past eight weeks, more than 2 million vaccinations have administered, and New York has used 99 percent of the doses supplied by the federal government, Cuomo said.

As of Feb. 15, the state will reallocate the majority of its 1a hospital worker supply to local health departments, to vaccinate individuals with comorbidities; health departments should begin to prepare, Cuomo said.

The state is still working to define "comorbidity" and who will be eligible, Cuomo said. The list created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be used as the basis with some areas needing clarification, he said. In New York, there are 4 million residents who are immune-compromised, he said; the total number of those eligible for a vaccine is 15 million.

The issue remains supply, with about 7.1 million New Yorkers already eligible before adding the comorbidity group and only 300,000 dosages received per week, but supply is expected to increase in coming months from the federal government.

Earlier this week Cuomo said the federal government announced that it would increase state supply at 5 percent, or a total of 20 percent, for the next three weeks.

In addition, pharmacies will get an additional direct allocation from the federal government at 10 percent of the state allocation, or 30,000 doses, Cuomo said.

With both local governments and pharmacies getting additional dosages, Cuomo also announced earlier in the week that the local governments will have the flexibility, depending on their circumstances, to add 1B priorities to expand vaccine eligibility to restaurant workers, taxi drivers, and members of developmentally disabled communities.

Cuomo also announced that the state would be looking to target vaccinations by high priority zip codes and locations and embracing the micro-cluster strategy to roll out the plan, which aims to bring down positivity rates in those areas.

A trial is taking place in the Bronx, using Yankee Stadium as a mass vaccination site, Cuomo said.

No curfew extension for Super Bowl

Despite a cry by some business owners and lawmakers to extend the curfew for restaurants and bars beyond 10 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, Cuomo said it won't happen. Bars and restaurants operate under the same license and Cuomo said bars, with drinking and people not wearing masks, could pose an issue. He recommended people celebrate Super Bowl safely at home.

"We are not thinking of changing the curfew for Super Bowl Sunday," he said.

Long Island, Hudson Valley have highest positivity

On Friday, Long Island's positivity rate stood at 5.56 percent, and the mid-Hudson Valley, at 5.54 percent, a percentage point above the state as a whole.

Overall, the state's positivity rate of 4.6 percent is the lowest since Nov. 28; a holiday spike drove that positivity rate up to 7.94 percent, Cuomo said.

On day 342 of the pandemic, Cuomo said the focus remains on rebuilding and recovery, vaccination, and controlling Covid.

Federal relief needed

In order to rebuild and recover, help is needed from the federal government, Cuomo said. Of the $350 billion in federal relief coming from President Joe Biden's administration, Cuomo said distribution must be fair to the areas hit hardest.

"It is factually inarguable that New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut paid a higher price for Covid than other states," he said. Covid, he added, came to the tri-state areas through airports, where travelers brought the virus from Europe.

Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy both called for fairness in tax policy. Cuomo has asked that the state and local tax, or SALT, deduction, be repealed. New Yorkers have been hit hard by the SALT deduction, to the tune of 16 billion, or about $34 million a day, Cuomo said.

Vaccine hesitancy

With more than 2 million vaccines already administered, the issue of "hesitancy" poses an issue, Cuomo said.

Among hospital workers, 70 percent eligible are white, with 63 percent of white workers having received the vaccination. In the 1A hospital worker group, 17 percent are Black, and 10 percent have been vaccinated. A total of 8 percent are Hispanic or Latino, with 10 percent vaccine recipients.

Among essential workers, with 75 percent of the eligible population white, 74 percent have been vaccinated; with 17 percent of the eligible group Black, 5 percent have been vaccinated; with 14 percent of the eligible population Hispanic or Latino, 10 percent have been vaccinated; and with Asians comprising 6 percent, 7 percent have been vaccinated.

Among the 65-and-over group, 77 percent of the eligible population is white, with 78 percent vaccinated; 13 percent are black, with 4 percent vaccinated; 12 percent are Hispanic or Latino, with 5 percent vaccinated; and 7 percent are Asian, with 8 percent vaccinated, Cuomo said.

In total, 39 percent of New Yorkers are hesitant to take the vaccine as soon as available, Cuomo said. A total of 78 percent of white New Yorkers say they will take a vaccine as soon as available, he said. But only 39 percent of Black New Yorkers, 54 percent of Hispanic, and 54 percent of Asian New Yorkers say the same, Cuomo said.

There is distrust and lack of access for the Black communities and those issues must be addressed; a public outreach campaign is being organized, Cuomo said. "Hesitancy must be addressed with facts and validation," he said.

By Patch Editor Lisa Finn. Patch Editor Lanning Taliaferro contributed to this report.