Auburn firefighters Mike Dahl, left, and Kevin Donnelly vaccinate Laura Bennett and David Smith, right, during the Auburn Fire Department's mobile vaccine detail for COVID-19 at the Edward T. Boyle Center senior apartment building.
Beginning Wednesday, New York will expand eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who made the announcement at the New York State Fairgrounds Tuesday, said that people age 60 and older will be eligible to get the vaccine starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Before the change, the age group that qualified for the vaccinations was 65 and up.
Anyone who is 60 and older can start making appointments for their vaccinations on Wednesday, according to Cuomo.
There will be more residents who are eligible next week. Beginning March 17, public-facing government employees, not-for-profit employees who "provide public-facing services" and essential building service workers will be eligible for the vaccine. These groups of workers include public works employees, child service and social service caseworkers, government inspectors, sanitation workers, Department of Motor Vehicles workers, county clerks, building service workers and election workers.
"These are the people who are the everyday heroes, who are out there doing their job," Cuomo said. "They're putting themselves in a possible position of exposure. They are essential for us to continue operating."
The additions to the eligibility list do not include agriculture or food processing workers, two groups that were included in the federal vaccination guidance but not included in the state's priority 1B rollout.
New York Farm Bureau David Fisher expressed frustration that farmworkers have been excluded again.
"The CDC recommends that food and agricultural workers be eligible for their own safety and that of our food system," Fisher said. "It is time to do what is right and prioritize the essential workers who help ensure New Yorkers have food on their tables."
Along with additional groups who are eligible for the vaccine, Cuomo said that nearly all vaccination sites — county-run clinics, federally qualified health centers and state-run mass vaccination clinics — will be allowed to vaccinate anyone who is eligible.
Early on in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, the state placed limits on who could be vaccinated at certain clinics. County-run sites, for example, could vaccinate eligible workers but not older residents. Pharmacies were tasked with vaccinating older residents.
That policy has evolved over time. It was recently announced that county sites could vaccinate older residents.
Cuomo noted that there will be one exception. While other sites can vaccinate anyone, pharmacies will be limited to people age 60 and older and teachers.
There are three approved vaccinations available. Two of the vaccines, which are manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer, require two doses, with the second dose administered a few weeks after the first.
The other vaccination is made by Johnson & Johnson. It's a single-dose vaccine.
At the New York State Fair's mass vaccination clinic, there have been daytime clinics offering the Pfizer vaccine and overnight clinics where the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is administered.
Cuomo announced that the state fair site administered 9,500 vaccinations in a 24-hour period.
The event featuring Cuomo was closed to the press. In its advisory announcing the event, the governor's office cited "COVID restrictions" as the reason for not allowing reporters. However, there were more than a dozen people standing behind Cuomo during the announcement.
Cuomo is being investigated for his handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes and, separately, for allegedly sexual harassing former female aides. While he did answer reporters' questions at a briefing last week and during a conference call on Sunday, he has opted for closed press events this week.
On Monday, his event at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan was closed to reporters. However, like the state fair event, there were several attendees, including state Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker.
Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.
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NY expanding eligibility for COVID-19 vaccine: Who can get shots? - The Citizen
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