New York’s COVID rate is lowest since Nov. 21: gov

New York State’s COVID infection rate continued to decline over the weekend even as concern about virus variants remained high.

The percentage of tests coming back positive came to 2.77% Saturday, the lowest rate since Nov. 21, according to Gov. Cuomo’s office.

There were 5,259 people hospitalized for the virus; 90 people around the state died.

Meanwhile Sunday, advisers to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson for use by people 18 and older.

Unlike vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna, the J&J version only needs one dose and doesn’t require deep-freeze storage.

“All three of them are really quite good, and people should take the one that’s most available to them,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

He predicted kids younger than 12 — who have proven much less vulnerable to the dreaded virus than adults — would get vaccinated in the first quarter of 2022.

“For the high school kids, it looks like sometime this fall,” Fauci added. “I’m not sure it’s exactly ... on the first day the school opens but pretty close to that.”

Cuomo hailed the green light for the J&J vaccine.

“The footrace between the infection, hospitalization and vaccination rates is at full speed, and with the promise of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine coming online, there is no doubt we are getting closer to reaching the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Cuomo, who’s reeling from recent allegations of sexual harassment.

The comments came as a more contagious variant of the virus first found in England has been spreading in New York City.

Cuomo recently authorized stadiums and arenas to host hundreds of fans at a time, and city movie theaters will reopen at 25% capacity Friday.

But Fauci warned of a possible rebound in cases as restrictions are eased.

“When you start to see a decline in number of cases, if you prematurely lift the restrictions, we have a few examples of the rebound back,” the doctor said, though he did not name New York specifically.