N.Y. TO GET ITS FIRST BATCH OF VACCINES

Nursing homes priority

New York expects to receive its first 170,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines by mid-December, but Gov. Cuomo warned that the pandemic will continue to spread more death, illness and hardship into next year.

The first batch of doses from Pfizer, once federally approved and vetted by the state, will be doled out to nursing homes for residents and staff starting on Dec. 15, the governor said during a press briefing Wednesday in Albany.

Additional shipments of immunizations, all of which will require two shots, will be available later in the month.

Cuomo called the national vaccination effort perhaps the biggest public undertaking since World War II, especially given the suspicions some Americans have about inoculations.

“My goal, for this state, is to have the fastest, most effective vaccination program in the United States,” the governor said, noting that “this is going to be an incredibly challenging experience.”

“The good news is the goal line is in sight,” he added.

The state faces several hurdles as it gears up to distribute vaccines, including overcoming public mistrust, a lack of funding and grappling with a growing number of COVID-19 cases and rising hospitalization rates in the coming months.

While the state has roughly 130,000 nursing home staff and 80,000 residents, the first round of doses will likely cover most elder care facilities since some people may refuse to get vaccinated.

“Now you are asking a person to take two vaccines… and they are distrusting about the vaccine going in, so this is going to be an incredibly challenging period to understand both of these,” Cuomo said.

The state will not attempt to mandate a vaccine, but the governor noted that experts say roughly 75% or 80% of people will need to be immunized by next summer to curb the viral spread of COVID enough to return to a sense of normalcy.

New York formed its own vaccine approval panel to independently determine immunization safety, a move mirrored by several other states that led President Trump to threaten to withhold or delay distribution.

The governor has tasked close ally and former state secretary, Larry Schwartz, with heading the state’s vaccination efforts.