New Yorkers Age 30 And Up Eligible For COVID Vaccine Effective Tuesday
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Starting next week, all adults in New York will be eligible for a COVID vaccine.
As CBS2's Andrea Grymes reports, 26-year-old Sam Lee, from Bushwick, Brooklyn, wasn't planning to get the COVID vaccine so soon, but now she can.
"I would be interested because my best friend's wedding is coming up in Texas and she wants everyone to be vaccinated," Lee said.
In a press release Monday afternoon, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced:
- All New Yorkers age 30 and older can get COVID vaccines starting Tuesday, March 30
- All New Yorkers age 16 and older can get vaccinated starting Wednesday, April 6
- Cuomo says this ensures universal eligibility in New York nearly a month earlier than President Joe Biden's May 1 deadline
"We're ready to do more. It's all about supply, supply, supply," said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Monday morning, prior to Cuomo's announcement, de Blasio touted the city's best vaccine week to date, and said he had not yet heard a timeline from the state on when all adults would be eligible.
"I think President Biden's right. I think May 1 is the right time to do that, so that we can really focus as much energy as possible on folks and greatest needs, seniors, folks with pre-existing conditions throughout the month of April," the mayor said.
After the announcement, City Hall said in a statement "Mayor de Blasio has been calling for the freedom to vaccinate more New Yorkers for months and months, so this is welcome news."
Cuomo did urge patience in waiting for an appointment, saying the state needs far more vaccine supply from the feds.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson urged everyone eligible to sign up.
"The faster we get people inoculated, the more quickly we're going to come back to normalcy, that people can gather together, eat indoors, spend time with their family members," Johnson said.
COVID VACCINE
- New York State book online here or call 1-833-NYS-4-VAX
- New York City book online here or call 877-VAX-4NYC
- Track NYC vaccinations by zip code
- Nassau County more info here
- Suffolk County more info here
- Westchester County more info here
- New Jersey book online here or call 1-855-568-0545
- Connecticut book online here
Cuomo called it a "monumental step in the fight beat COVID."
Statewide, about 30% of New Yorkers have received at least one dose so far, the governor said.
