Gov touts $65M booster bid
Vows COVID vax aid as delta ‘rages,’ takes shot at Andy
Gov. Hochul said Tuesday that her administration will make $65 million available for local governments to develop plans for administering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots, as the delta variant of the virus continues to wreak havoc across New York.
Boosters are only authorized for certain immunocompromised individuals at the moment, but Hochul said she’s putting up the cash right away so localities can hash out logistics and hit the ground running once eligibility expands.
“I’ll make sure you have the funding to do that,” she said at a press briefing in her native Buffalo. “You tell me what you need, and we’ll make sure that there’s funding available.”
It was not immediately clear how the $65 million will be sourced, though the state has received billions of dollars in federal pandemic relief in recent months.
The governor’s office said the money will be funneled to local health departments, which are then given free rein to devise plans.
In a thinly veiled shot at exGov. Andrew Cuomo, her at times heavy-handed predecessor, Hochul said her administration will serve as a support system for local governments, not as an arbiter of demands.
“I will not be micromanaging, but I’ll be giving guidance based on your input. I’ll be giving you the cover you need. I’ll be there to be the ally, but I will not be imposing state people and locations on all of you without consultation,” she said, adding she plans to adopt a “different philosophy” in the fight against the virus.
With infection rates ticking back up across the U.S. because of the delta variant, federal public health officials have said that those who received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will likely be asked to get a third shot this fall to ensure efficacy. The one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine has not yet been cleared for booster doses, but is likely to fall under similar guidance.
Hochul, who has placed the battle against the pandemic front and center since being sworn in as New York’s first female governor last week, said her push for boosters comes from a place of concern.
“We all thought we’d be turning the page on anything related to the pandemic, certainly by this time. We have not,” she said. “The battle rages. We have to fight back.”
She even raised the possibility that another, even more contagious version of the virus could be on the horizon.
“There may be another variant coming again, and we have to be prepared,” she said.
According to the latest state Health Department data, 3,789 coronavirus infections were reported in the state Monday, with a test positivity rate of 3.96%.
Another 48 New Yorkers were hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms on Monday, the data also showed. Twenty-two New Yorkers died from COVID-19 in the same reporting window.
The hospitalization rate is considered one of the most concerning metrics in that those who require medical attention are far more likely to suffer severe symptoms or death.
Hochul noted that an overwhelming number of hospitalized patients are unvaccinated.
“That’s something that can be changed and must be changed,” she said.
More than 30% of New York’s adult population remain at least partially unvaccinated, according to the Health Department.
Seeking to jack up inoculation rates, Hochul said her administration is exploring the legality of mandating vaccinations for all staff in state-regulated facilities.
With the start of the school year around the corner, Hochul last week announced a statewide indoor mask mandate for all students, teachers and other educational staff.
On Tuesday, Hochul said she’s also looking into requiring all teachers and school staff to either get vaccinated or submit to regular testing, though she added she wished she could mandate the shots outright.
“I don’t have the same executive power that was in place last year,” she said, referring to the sweeping emergency authority the Legislature granted Cuomo at the chaotic outset of the pandemic. “But if I did? Sure as I’m standing here, I would mandate it.”