N.Y. expanding vaccine eligibility
State now offers shots to everyone 50 and up
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York is expanding eligibility for the coronavirus vaccine to everyone 50 and older, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.
The governor said newly eligible people can start signing up for vaccines starting Tuesday morning.
Previously, everyone 60 and older could get vaccinated, as well as certain essential workers and people with select health conditions that leave them at-risk of serious illness from COVID-19.
Cuomo said the state can expand eligibility because of promises from the federal government that vaccine supplies will keep increasing. It’s unclear how many people are now eligible for vaccines in New York.
“We will have enough vaccine to vaccinate people,” Cuomo said. “We have to make sure we have the capacity and willingness to take the vaccine.”
Local and county officials for weeks have urged the Cuomo administration to ease restrictions on eligibility and who can administer vaccines to help speed up vaccinations. The governor has said low vaccine supplies held up vaccine distribution early on in New York’s rollout, but he has eased eligibility restrictions in recent weeks.
New York has now provided at least one dose of vaccine to about one-fourth of its population of 19 million residents. That’s in line with the national average, according to federal data.
The governor said he wants to address the lower level of vaccination among minority communities, which can face barriers to health care.
“We still have not reached fairness and equity in the number of vaccines,” Cuomo said, later adding: “That discrepancy has to be remedied.”
In other developments:
■ The downward trend in Texas
COVID-19 hospitalizations remained uninterrupted Monday, according to state statistics. The 3,447 COVID-19 sufferers were hospitalized Monday in Texas, 552 than the previous Monday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
■ Arizona is opening coronavirus vaccine appointments to everyone 16 and older. Gov. Doug Ducey said Monday that appointments will be available at state-run mass vaccination sites in Phoenix, Tucson and Yuma starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Ducey said the decision was made based on an anticipated increase in vaccine supply.
■ Minnesota health officials reported no new deaths due to COVID-19 for the first time in nearly a year. The Minnesota Department of Health also reported 1,152 new cases, putting the state at 506,376 cases and 6,782 deaths since the start of the pandemic a year ago.
The Star Tribune reported that while Mondays tend to see fewer deaths reported than average, the figure is the first time the state has reported no new deaths in a daily situation update since April 13.
■ The Navajo Nation on Monday reported no new COVID-19 cases and no deaths. It was the second consecutive day that the tribe has
not recorded a coronavirus-related death.
■ The governor of Wisconsin has signed a bill that allows dentists to administer COVID-19 vaccinations. The bill was signed the same day that more than 2 million more people became eligible for shots. The Republican-authored bill allows dentists who complete eight hours of training on vaccine protocols and record keeping to administer shots. Dentists in neighboring Minnesota and Illinois are already permitted to give the vaccine. About 3,500 dentists in Wisconsin could be enlisted to help vaccinate.
■ The governor of West Virginia announced the state will immediately open coronavirus vaccine eligibility to all residents 16 and older. Republican Gov. Jim Justice said the state will continue prioritizing doses for residents 65 and older.
■ Starting Monday, hundreds of Michigan school districts had to offer at least 20 hours a week of in-person instruction to receive all of a minimum $450-per-student increase in emergency pandemic funding. The provision affects 206, or 38 percent, of the state’s 537 traditional K-12 districts — those with higher numbers or percentages of children from middle-class and wealthy families.