New Yorkers with med woes OKd to get on long list for vax
Dad shot as his kids slept upstairs
ALBANY — New Yorkers with underlying health issues can begin signing up to get vaccinated against COVID on Valentine’s Day — as long as they have a doctor’s note, Gov. Cuomo announced Monday.
State-run vaccination sites will start booking appointments for people with co-morbidities on Sunday, Feb. 14, greatly expanding who’s eligible for immunization against the deadly virus in the Empire State while federal supplies remain relatively low.
The change means millions more will be jockeying for a shot, the governor admitted.
“Ten million New Yorkers are chasing 300,000 vaccines every week,” the governor said during a remote briefing at the state Capitol. “That’s what’s happening, so, yes, expect the portals to open, expect the appointments to be booked very quickly, and this will be an ongoing tension until the supply is greatly increased and dramatically increased.”
Around 7 million people are already eligible in the state, including health care workers, essential workers and first responders as well as anyone 65 years and older. The Biden administration recently upped the number of doses being sent to states, but Cuomo and others have warned much more is needed to keep up with demand.
Last week, the governor said that hospitals in the state had until the end of this week to vaccinate eligible workers who have yet to receive a shot after announcing more than 75% of health care workers have already received the first dose. Starting next week, allocations that were being directed to medical centers will be sent to local health departments to start inoculating New Yorkers of any age with preexisting conditions against coronavirus.
Those seeking a vaccine must either have a letter from a doctor, documentation proving a condition, or sign a certification that they have a health issue.
The state will audit the vaccine rolls to keep an eye out for fraud, which is to be expected, the governor acknowledged.
“New Yorkers are fair-minded and everybody wants this vaccine,” Cuomo said. “But the rules should be followed. We don’t want people abusing the system.”
A man fatally shot outside a Brooklyn apartment complex was at a party with his children, who were blissfully asleep when he stumbled back inside bleeding from the gunshot wounds to his chest, his girlfriend said Monday.
Cops said Malik Wright was shot twice in the chest in front of the Stuyvesant Gardens Houses on Gates Ave. near Malcolm X Blvd. in Bedford-Stuyvesant about 1:20 a.m. Sunday.
Wright, 33, and his girlfriend, Ebony Walker, 34, were at a friend’s birthday party when Wright stepped out to get some air, she said.
Cops said Wright was shot after a dispute with his attackers.
“He ran inside and jumped into my arms,” Walker said. “He just ran straight in.”
She said he was everywhere. bleeding
“I thought he just had a fight,” Walker said. “But the way he dropped to the floor, he was muffled and said, ‘I got shot.’ Everybody just panicked, and then we just tried to keep him awake.”
She said cops arrived a short time later and performed CPR until medics took Wright to Kings County Hospital, where he later died.
Two suspects who were armed were taken into custody for questioning, according to sources. No charges were immediately filed.
“There wasn’t any drama or anything,” Walker said. “He just went outside to get some air. He didn’t argue with anybody.”
Walker said their kids, a 6-year-old boy and an 11-monthold girl, were at the party when Wright was shot, but managed to sleep through the commotion.
She said the baby girl is too young to understand what happened to her dad, but the little boy knows.
“He just looked at me and said he didn’t know what to say or how to feel.” Walker said.
She described Wright as a devoted dad and a loving partner.
“He was a great person,” Walker said.
“He was so lovable. He loved his kids. He was amazing. We’d cook, go out, sing, dance, everything. We’d been together for so long, since teenagers,” she said.
Wright was shot just half a block from the building where he and Walker lived.
His distraught mother declined to comment about the shooting. Walker said Wright was also a father to two older children.
Walker said she had just one word for Wright’s killers.
“Why? Just why?” she said. “I’m still trying to figure it all out. He didn’t bother nobody.”