More than 10 million NYers have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, Cuomo says
Molloy nursing student Ana Quintanilla vaccinates Gabriela Procel of Lynbrook, during a vaccination event at Molloy College last month. Credit: Danielle Silverman
This story was reported by Robert Brodsky, Lisa L. Colangelo, Bart Jones and David Reich-Hale. It was written by Jones.
More than 10 million New Yorkers, including thousands of children on Long Island in the newly eligible group of 12- to 15-year-olds, have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, officials said Tuesday.
That news came one day before a major reopening in the state, as most COVID-19 pandemic capacity restrictions will be lifted at businesses ranging from hair salons to fitness centers.
Youths ages 12 to 15 became eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination Thursday.
Since then, 11,330 on Long Island have received the first dose of the two-shot vaccine, according to state figures updated Tuesday. That includes 6,613 in Nassau County and 4,717 in Suffolk. In New York City, about 20,000 residents ages 12 to 15 have received the first dose, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
Across New York, 69,357 children in that age group have received their first dose, according to the state.
The ultimate level of turnout among children remains unclear, said Dr. David Battinelli, chief medical officer at Northwell Health.
"I think you’ll see that early on, it’s going to look extremely good," Battinelli said. "It won’t be until we get to a certain spot that we will know more about the hesitancy. It’ll take a few weeks to see if it tails off."
Battinelli compared the trajectory to what the region saw with adult vaccinations.
"In the beginning, people were clamoring to get in," he said.
More than 1,300 youths were vaccinated during a May 13-16 event at Nassau Community College, according to Northwell Health, which organized it alongside County Executive Laura Curran. About 814 people were ages 12 to 15.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Tuesday said a total of 118,879 shots were administered in the state over the previous 24 hours for all age groups, and 806,782 in the last seven days. On Long Island, about 1.3 million people have received at least one dose and about 1 million people have completed their vaccine sequence, according to state data released Tuesday.
"Our providers are continuing to work around the clock to administer more shots, and we remain committed to making sure the vaccine distribution is equitable all across the state," Cuomo said in a statement.
Statewide, 62% of the population 18 years and older has received at least one shot, and 52.6% are fully vaccinated, the data showed.
Even as the state prepares to lift many of its indoor mask mandates Wednesday for fully vaccinated New Yorkers, New York City officials urged caution and said residents should use common sense and put on a face covering whenever they feel it is appropriate.
Health Commissioner Dr. David Chokshi, who is fully vaccinated, said he will continue to wear a mask when he is indoors in almost all public settings around others who may not be fully vaccinated.
"When I put it on, I will be thinking about the sense of community and the social norms, particularly around masking and distancing that helped us get to this very hopeful stage of the pandemic," Chokshi said, adding that basic precautions should remain "important for a bit longer" as vaccinations continue to rise.
Both the statewide daily and seven-day average of positive results in COVID-19 tests on Monday was 1.07%, according to state data.
The seven-day average was 0.94% on Long Island and 0.88% in New York City.
The number of new confirmed cases was 69 in Nassau, 68 in Suffolk and 402 in New York City.
Statewide, a total of 17 people died of causes related to the virus on Monday, and none were on Long Island.
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