COVID 19

COVID Vaccine: New Yorkers 60 And Older Now Eligible, More Essential Workers Next Week

/ CBS New York

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- COVID-19 vaccine eligibility expanded in the state to anyone over the age of 60 on Wednesday, regardless of their health status.

If you were born on or before March 10, 1961, you can now get your first, or in the case of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, only, shot.

In an effort to try to accommodate everyone, the Javits Center in Manhattan is now a 24-hour operation

However, several people told CBS2's Natalie Duddridge they're still having a hard time getting an appointment.

"Me, myself, I'm over 60, so I think this is the best thing going," Upper West Side resident Kevin Porter said.

COVID VACCINE

There is relief for people like Porter, who made the cut for the vaccine now that the age of eligibility has been lowered from 65 and over, no matter your health status.

"I think it's wonderful. I think everybody needs to get this vaccine," one woman said.

"I was going nuts, but now I'm happy," another person said.

Starting March 17, so-called "public-facing" workers can also get the shot. That includes government, nonprofit, and essential building service employees.

However, many people, especially older seniors, are still struggling to book appointments.

"I've been trying to get vaccinated for over two weeks now. I've been to every hospital. They told me I have to go back online," one man said.

"It's hard. I just kept trying. I feel sorry for the older people who don't have help doing this because it wasn't easy," Greg Gojkovich added.

The doses are still very limited. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said the vaccine flow from the federal government will not be smooth. It continues to ebb and flow.

"Supply, supply, supply, still our number one problem. Right now, we are getting less than we need by a lot, something like 150,000 to 200,000 doses per week less than what we could actually use," Mayor Bill de Blasio said. "That problem has to be solved by the manufacturers.

But the mayor, overall, he is happy with the progress the state has made. All sites can now vaccinate anyone who is eligible, whether you go to a county- or city-run site.

"The state had rules that said if you walked into one site you couldn't get vaccinated unless you were from one category or another. If you were a public worker you couldn't get vaccinated at one site. If you were over 65 you couldn't get vaccinated at another site. Only certain people could go to certain sites. Finally, the state has relented and now we have the freedom to vaccinate and use every one of our hundreds of sites." de Blasio said.

The exception is pharmacies. They continue to serve, strictly, people 60 and over, and teachers.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Health officials say the goal is to get everyone a shot as soon as possible, because new variants are continuing to spread.

"These new variants account for 51% of all cases that we have in the city right now," Dr. Jay Varma said.

Officials say while these variants are known to be more contagious, there is no evidence, nor do they believe they are vaccine resistant.

Meanwhile, the MTA has launched an employee vaccination site at Grand Central Terminal, with the capacity to vaccinate 200 people a day. The site is appointment only, and Metro-North employees are expected to be the primary users.

Nearly 15,000 MTA workers have already received the vaccine.

CBS2's John Dias contributed to this report

© 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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