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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced during his latest COVID-19 briefing on Monday, Dec. 21 that more than 38,000 COVID-19 have been administered already statewide - largely to healthcare workers - the highest number of any state in the nation.
With those allocations of the vaccination distributed, Cuomo said that reinforcements are on the way, with the first 346,200 doses of the Moderna vaccine coming to New York on Monday, and another 120,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine expected later this week.
According to Cuomo, the vaccines have been distributed throughout each of the state’s 10 regions based on population and the number of hospitals there.
As of Dec. 21 vaccinations have been distributed to:
- New York City: 267,250;
- Long Island: 86,150;
- Hudson Valley: 68,400;
- Western New York: 45,650;
- Finger Lakes: 42,200;
- Capital Region: 37,250;
- Central New York: 25,850;
- Southern Tier: 20,700;
- Mohawk Valley: 20,300;
- North Country: 16,550.
“So far, 38,000 have received their first vaccine dose, and there were no policies, it’s all just proportionate to the number of people eligible in that class,” Cuomo said. “So if we’re talking about essential healthcare workers, this is where they are by percentage.
“New York City hospitals get more, yes, because New York City has more hospitals. Long Island (and the mid-Hudson) got more doses, because they are a larger percentage of the population.”
New York has distributed more than double the number of vaccines of any other state, ahead of Texas (15,300) and Colorado (12,100), Cuomo noted.
“We're now talking about who's getting vaccinated, and let me be clear: there is no politics in the vaccination process," Cuomo said. "We went through this with COVID testing, with big shots, celebrities, and affluent people getting to the front of the line.
“This preferential treatment in COVID testing undermines our entire sense of democracy, equality, and a government that works for all people,” he added. “And in this time of COVID where we've seen gross injustices, politics has nothing to do with it.
The governor noted that while he would be willing to take the vaccination publicly to help increase the public’s faith in it, he would not be jumping the line and will instead be waiting to get vaccinated with the general population.
“There's no governor, no county executive, and no mayor who controls the process, and anyone who says that is not telling the truth or violating the law,” Cuomo said. “This is entirely done by medical professionals and our hospitals have already vaccinated more people than any state in the nation."
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