Eligibility for vaccine expanding
State announces nonprofit workers, volunteers can be inoculated for COVID-19
At the City Mission of Schenectady, Executive Director Mike Saccocio has a saying: “Volunteers are not the icing on the cake, they are the cake.”
So the state’s announcement that nonprofit workers and volunteers will now be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday is “very good news.”
“Before the pandemic, we were averaging 700 hours a week for volunteers,” Saccocio said. “That had to literally stop. It’s been a real struggle.”
When the vaccination expansion starts, all so-called “public-facing” employees will be eligible for the vaccination. In addition to nonprofit workers, government and public employees will also be eligible. So too will building workers such as custodians, security officers and porters. They will join the list of people age 60 and older as well as those with comorbidities who are eligible to receive the vaccine in New York.
Jeffrey Hammond, a spokesman for the state Department of Health, said that means 12 million out of the state’s 19.4 million people — about 80 percent of the adult population — will be eligible for the vaccination.
“Our goal is to get as many shots into arms as quickly as possible,” Hammond said. “As our allocation has increased, we have been expanding the eligibility.”
It’s a relief for many, like Lifeworks Community Action Executive Director Jo Anne Hume, whose nearly 300 employees and volunteers have been out in the community throughout the pandemic.
“We never stopped from day one,” Hume said. “Our food pantry, our kitchen staff, our weatherization staff that goes into people’s homes have not stopped. We are so glad they are going to be able to be safe while doing it. We are very glad we can do that.”
She is particularly hopeful about the organization’s Head Start program. Since the pandemic, most of the pre-k classes have been conducted remotely, which doesn’t work well for young learners, Hume said.
“In-person education, particularly for the young, young kids, that desperately need school readiness going into kindergarten is important,” Hume said Thursday, adding, “A lot of parents
chose virtual because they didn’t feel safe. I hope this brings them back.”
At the Albany County Courthouse, County Clerk Bruce Hidley said that his office has been open by appointment only since June, with many staff working from home. While the office has been “very careful,” he looks forward to his staff getting the vaccine and eventually
bringing everyone back.
“As far as my employees getting vaccinated, I’m encouraging all of them to do that,” said Hidley who is 63 and just became eligible on Tuesday. “They are frontline workers and I want them to feel safe.”
Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler echoed the sentiment. City Hall reopened two weeks ago, he said, and city workers have been careful, handling city business behind plexiglass shields and
masks. But Keeler said he was happy to hear that all city employees will now be eligible for the vaccine.
“It’s not really going to change the way we do business,” Keeler said. “But it does give everyone another level of confidence.”
Hume said the expanded eligibility is welcome because “we never thought we could stop.”
“We are serving the most vulnerable,” she said. “All of the work is so important.”