Cuomo: New York expanding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to ages 60 and older

People who are 60 and older will be eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine in New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Tuesday, as he lowered the age threshold from 65 and also said he will open most vaccination sites to all state residents who qualify.

The lower-age group eligibility goes into effect Wednesday at 8 a.m.

The change adds to the population of at least 10 million people who had been deemed eligible in the state, even though vaccines have been in short supply and many people were frustrated trying to get appointments for shots.

State officials estimate that the change in age criteria adds about 500,000 more people to the list of eligible individuals.

Cuomo emphasized that the way out of the morass of the pandemic is to get the vast majority of people vaccinated and build widespread immunity.

"Let’s get our lives back to normal, let's get children back in school, let's get paychecks back in homes, let's get normal society functioning again," Cuomo said during a livestreamed address from the New York State Fair in Syracuse. "This vaccine is the ticket. We just have to make it happen."

People in the expanded age category can start making their appointments Wednesday morning, while others in "public-facing" occupations will be added to the eligibility list on March 17.

They will include public and nonprofit employees who deal with the public as well as building workers in those roles. "They are essential for us to continue operating," Cuomo said.

Also starting Wednesday next week, Cuomo said most vaccination sites can dispense the shots to all people on the eligibility list — except for pharmacies, which will remain focused on people 60 and older and teachers. The Biden administration has deemed teachers a priority as it pushes to reopen schools for classroom instruction.

The state had limited eligibility to people over 65 to ensure that the most vulnerable could get in line first, but Cuomo credited President Joe Biden for increasing the vaccine supply, giving the state government and other providers more doses to go around.

Among the large swath of New Yorkers already eligible for the shots are health care workers, teachers, police, firefighters, restaurants workers, other workers deemed "essential" and people with health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe illness.

Biden has pledged that every American adult will have access to a coronavirus vaccine by the end of May.

State officials said Tuesday that mass vaccination sites, including ones at Jones Beach and Stony Brook, remain backlogged. Most appointments through April 16 are booked, and none have been made available beyond that date, they said.

Sometimes openings occur due to cancellations, officials said, but those are random.

Steve Gramlich, 64, of Amity Harbor, said he’s skeptical he’ll be able to get an appointment.

There isn’t enough supply as it is, he said.

"Unless I want to do a 1,000-mile trip to Buffalo, I can get an appointment there," he said. "But I live here on Long Island. What am I gonna do? Drive to Buffalo for a vaccine? It’s ridiculous."

Ronnie Hudson, 64, of Hempstead, reached out to his own primary care doctor after hearing that his age group newly qualifies. He’s also considering trying to get an appointment at the state’s Javits site.

"I’m just waiting for my turn, when it’s available for me," Hudson said, adding: "I want to get vaccinated as soon as possible."

David Kilmnick, president of the nonprofit LGBT Network on Long Island, said the state's announcement means that 33 people on his staff — including himself — qualify for the vaccine who didn’t before. Only one of his organization’s 34 personnel had been eligible already, under earlier criteria.

Kilmnick, 53, said his community center would soon be able to restart certain in-person services, such as HIV testing and supporting those facing bias and discrimination.

"Since the pandemic started, it's not like people haven't needed more help," he said, adding: "it will help us get back to be operational, providing services on site for our youth for our seniors at a much earlier date than we anticipated."

'We have to stop the virus'

Tom D'Angelo, who runs home infusion pharmacy Americare in Garden City South and Franklin Square Pharmacy in Franklin Square, said Tuesday he welcomed the governor's move to allow teachers to be vaccinated at a pharmacy.

"It's great news, and we would be willing to start immediately," said D'Angelo. "I know the concern is having supply for the vulnerable community. But pharmacies can do the entire community."

D'Angelo said he received 800 doses this week at his Americare location, and "we need more people. We don't have a line. We are spreading the word as much as we can to come … Please don't call because our phones can't handle it."

D'Angelo added that Americare expects another 800 doses next week.

"We have the Moderna vaccine, and we hope to get the Johnson & Johnson one soon," he said.

CVS said it is aligning with federal and state guidelines to make appointments at the pharmacy available to pre-K through 12th-grade educators, as well as staff and child care workers in all 17 states where it currently offers COVID-19 vaccines, said Tara Burke, a CVS spokeswoman.

Criteria for teachers is listed on the CVS website, she added.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said she was "thrilled to hear that Governor Cuomo has expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility" to the new groups, including public employees, which she said will benefit "Nassau's incredible workforce" when some become eligible next week.

She noted that the Nassau Coliseum mass vaccination site is expected to open soon.

Cuomo urged state residents, including many who are hesitant in minority communities, to take the vaccine as soon as they qualify and can schedule it.

"I am going to make an appointment. I am going to take it," Cuomo said. "We have to stop the virus … The enemy doesn’t defeat themselves … Nobody ever says 'Wait for the enemy to destroy themselves.' Go out there and crush them. You know how you crush them? You crush them with this vaccine."

For the second day in a row, he appeared with leaders of the Black and Latino communities to help boost his message.

Cuomo said the mass vaccination site operating at the State Fair is now the second largest in the United States, behind only the mass site at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. The Syracuse site administered about 9,500 shots in the past 24 hours, he said.

Meanwhile, a $1 million statewide television and digital advertising campaign launched by the New York State United Teachers kicked off Tuesday to publicize safety measures needed to open schools.

Titled "My Kids," the new 30-second ad noted the importance of bringing back in-person learning for students safely including the need for COVID-19 testing in schools, vaccine availability for education professionals, social distancing, mandatory masking, and sanitization and hygiene protocols. It will air in all regions of the state for the next month.

In recent weeks, the union, which has more than 600,000 members, has called for more COVID-19 testing for students and staff while districts continue to adhere to safety standards set by public health officials, including mask wearing and proper social distancing.

The seven-day average for positivity in testing for COVID-19 statewide was 3.16%, with a level of 4.23% on Long Island. The daily statewide level of new positives in test results from Monday was 3.93%, out of 174,514 test results returned.

The number of new confirmed cases was 612 in Nassau County, 552 in Suffolk County, and 3,943 in New York City.

Statewide a total of 75 people died on Monday of causes related to the virus, including five in Nassau and eight in Suffolk.

Miller Place High closed due to positives

Miller Place High School will be closed through Friday due to 10 potential new positives in the building as well as the possibility that 40 to 90 students may need to quarantine, district officials said.

All after-school activities, including sports, have been canceled. This Saturday’s SAT exam has also been canceled, school officials said.

In a note dated Tuesday, Superintendent Marianne F. Cartisano reported that Monday there were three positive cases that, following contact tracing, resulted in 18 students being quarantined. On Tuesday, the district learned that another four students tested positive with test results pending for another three symptomatic students.

"We expect these new 7 cases will identify approximately another 40-90 students needing to be quarantined," she said. "We believe that the majority of these cases may be the result of outside the District student contact, including weekend parties and/or gatherings."

There will be no after-school activities for the rest of this week including drama, junior varsity and varsity athletics. This includes play rehearsals, athletic practices and all games beginning this afternoon through Sunday, she said.

The SAT exam scheduled for this Saturday, March 12 is canceled and could be rescheduled for later this month or in April. Students will be contacted by SAT directly regarding refunds and rescheduling. The District will re-evaluate the status of the high school positive cases, and close contacts, throughout the week to determine when next week in-person instruction, and all student activities will resume.

Suffolk legislators start waiting list

Suffolk County residents seeking a COVID-19 vaccine can contact their county legislator to be put on a waiting list for appointments, officials said Monday.

Legislators said they expect officials to get through the list in the next few weeks since Suffolk is set to receive more vaccines.

Residents can call their district legislator Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or contact 311 to be added to the list.

The waitlist currently is only for people ages 65 and over.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that the city is hiring 2,000 new workers as part of a vaccine corps to promote the shots in neighborhoods where vaccination rates are lower than average, he said.

The Vaccine for All Corps is meant especially so people in neighborhoods with lower vaccination rates "see people who look like them."

"We’re bringing on board more and more good New Yorkers to help us in this effort, folks who want to serve their fellow New Yorkers," he said.

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