Jones Beach Coronavirus Vaccines Stored At Wrong Temperature

LONG ISLAND, NY — A new round of coronavirus vaccinations is coming for people impacted by a snafu that left doses stored at the wrong temperature at New York's mass vaccination site at Jones Beach, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

When asked about the vaccinations at Jones Beach, Cuomo's team said less than a quarter of a percent of those vaccinated that day — according to a report by Eyewitness News, the date in question was Feb. 15 — received shots that were improperly stored at higher temperatures.

Eighty-one people out of the nearly 1,400 vaccinated were impacted; they were all notified and a new round of shots has been scheduled, Cuomo said.

Reopenings coming

Also on Monday, Cuomo announced new reopenings, including movie theaters.

In October, Cuomo announced that movie theaters could reopen on Long Island at 25 percent capacity, with no more than 50 people at a screening, assigned seating, as well as masks, social distancing and other guidelines, such as purification and air filtration systems. Those guidelines will remain in place for all movie theaters statewide; all are allowed to open as of March 5, Cuomo said.

So far, movie theater workers are not eligible to be vaccinated, Cuomo said, adding that many retail businesses have reopened with workers who are not yet eligible for vaccination.

Cuomo reminded that weddings and catered events can reopen at 50 percent capacity on March 15 with up to 150 in attendance; prior testing of all guests is key, he said. All guests must sign in with contact information to help with contact tracing and venues must notify the local health department in advance, he said.

Masks are required at all times except when guests are seated, eating, and drinking; there are guidelines in place for socially distanced dancing, Cuomo said.

School reopenings

Cuomo plans to ask local districts to report on how many teachers have been vaccinated and how many are doing in-class teaching. The state plans to ask local districts to begin reporting on Wednesday and the reporting will continue on a weekly basis, Cuomo said.

"We need clarity on that because opening schools is very important and also has economic consequences," Cuomo said.

Nursing home visitation

Nursing home visitation begins on Friday, Feb. 26, Cuomo said.

The Department of Health recommended that visitors take a rapid test before entry into the facility, and DOH will provide rapid tests to nursing homes to facilitate their ability to test visitors on-site for free, Cuomo said.

Visitation continues to depend on the nursing home facility being free of COVID-19 cases for 14 days and the facility is not currently conducting outbreak testing.

For counties with COVID-19 positivity rates between five and 10 percent on a seven-day rolling average, visitor testing is required and visitors must either present with a negative COVID-19 test, either PCR or rapid, within 72 hours, or rapid tests can be given, Cuomo said.

For counties with a COVID-19 positivity rates below five percent on a 7-day rolling average, visitor testing is encouraged, Cuomo said. Visitors can also provide proof of a completed COVID-19 vaccination no less than 14 days from the date of the visit and no more than 90 days prior to the visit.

Visitation will not be permitted if the county's COVID-19 positivity rate is greater than 10 percent, with the exception of compassionate care visits, which are always permitted,Cuomo said.

Visitation can be conducted in resident rooms, dedicated visitation spaces, and outdoors, buthe number of visitors to the nursing home must not exceed 20 percent of the resident census at any time, Cuomo said.

Billiard halls opening doors

New York State was sued by representatives of billiards and pools halls, Cuomo said; the state "lost the suit" and is now coming up with guidelines for safe reopenings. Billiard and pool halls will reopen at 50 percent capacity, with masks required at all times, assigned seating, and physical barriers for social distancing, Cuomo said.

Call for national tax increase

While revenue is up $1.6 billion and the economy is "rebounding," Cuomo said with a $15 billion deficit, New York needs to provide relief to tenants, landlords and small businesses hit hard by the pandemic.

To that end, Cuomo appealed to his congressional colleagues: "If you are progressive in the minority you shouldn't be regressive in the majority. This nation should have a tax increase on the wealthiest Americans to provide the relief necessary to states. Otherwise, you force individual states to raise taxes, putting them at a competitive disadvantage."

Those states hit hardest are primarily Democratic states, Cuomo said.

A national tax increase is necessary, Cuomo said. "That is what progressive Democrats talked about for years; now you are in the majority. Do it, so states like New York don't have to."

Former President Donald Trump's tax plan, he said, gave a "tax gift to the richest," and "stole from Democratic states," with the state and local tax deduction, or SALT; Cuomo has called out for SALT repeal. "No one paid a higher price for Covid than New York State and SALT compounded it," he said. "Reverse it and bring a progressive tax code to this nation."