25 Jan Gov says NY has a vaccine supply problem, not distribution problem

Posted at 15:51h in News by

Governor Cuomo Press Briefing

The Governor’s January 25 press briefing took place at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo. The Governor was joined by:

    • Kathy Hochul, Lieutenant Governor; and
    • Gareth Rhodes, Deputy Superintendent & Special Counsel at NYS Department of Financial Services.
  • COVID-19 DATA FROM 1/24:
    • Statewide Positivity Rate – 5.47%
    • Test Results Reported – 219,538
    • Statewide Deaths – 167
    • Current Hospitalizations – 8,730 (+117)
    • Patients Currently in ICU – 1,522 (-5)
    • Patients Currently Intubated – 1,005 (+8)
    • Total NY Pandemic Deaths – 34,242
  • REGIONAL HOSPITALIZATION AND POSITIVITY RATES:
    • Capital Region
      • 503 hospitalized
      • 6.43% positivity rate
    • Central New York
      • 259 hospitalized
      • 4.84% positivity rate
    • Finger Lakes
      • 701 hospitalized
      • 5.24% positivity rate
    • Long Island
      • 1,594 hospitalized
      • 6.92% positivity rate
    • Mid-Hudson
      • 1,030 hospitalized
      • 6.77% positivity rate
    • Mohawk Valley
      • 251 hospitalized
      • 6.61% positivity rate
    • New York City
      • 3,638 hospitalized
      • 5.57% positivity rate
    • North Country
      • 97 hospitalized
      • 6.54% positivity rate
    • Southern Tier
      • 248 hospitalized
      • 3.10% positivity rate
    • Western New York
      • 409 hospitalized
      • 5.70% positivity rate

  • STATEWIDE AREAS OF CONCERN: The Finger Lakes and Long Island Regions remain areas of concern, as well as the Bronx in New York City. The State will be focusing on those three areas.

  • POST-HOLIDAY EFFECT: The positivity rate continues to decline from the post-holiday spike. The statewide positivity rate is at 5.85%, this is down from 7.94% in the beginning of January. Both the hospitalization rate and rate of transmission have declined as well.
    • The Governor stressed the most important number is the rate of transmission, which shows for every person infected how many people they will, in turn, infect. At New York’s high point 1 person was infecting 2.5 people. The ideal transmission rate is below 1, which is where New York is right now.
    • Due to the post-holiday spike now decreasing, the State will be making some adjustments to open up more economic activity. The Department of Health currently is reviewing the data. As of today, the Governor announced that elective surgeries may resume in Erie County. He indicated there will be more adjustments announced over the coming days.
    • When asked by a reporter if indoor dining in New York City will be included as a part of these adjustments, the Governor stated the focus will be more on micro-cluster zone designations. They are not contemplating a change for indoor dining for New York City at this time.

  • NEW STRAINS: The Governor urged New Yorkers to remain vigilant. There have been new COVID-19 strains discovered, such as the UK strain, the South African strain and now the California strain. The virus has been ahead of us every step of the way.

 

  • VACCINE: New York has administered over 1.5 million total vaccine doses to date, with 91% of the first doses administered. The Governor congratulated all of the providers involved in this effort.

 

  • VACCINE SUPPLY: The Governor clarified that New York does not “run out” of the vaccine. Rather, the State receives a weekly allocation from the Federal government. The 91% administered vaccines refers to the amount the State has received to date.

 

    • When asked by a reporter when the State anticipates receiving more than 250,000 doses per week, the Governor said that the states find out their allocations week-to-week, which makes planning more difficult. New York continues to work with the Federal government on this issue.

 

  • VACCINE DISTRIBUTION: New York has 3,000 sites ready for distribution. The Governor indicated that National Guard will be operating mass vaccination sites. Between the State and localities, New York has the ability to distribute millions of doses, but does not have the supply to do so.  The Governor reminded that the lack of supply is a national and international issue, not just New York.

  • HOSPITAL WORKERS: Hospital capacity remains a top concern. The Governor stressed how important it is that hospitals do not reach capacity, or have a staff shortage due to healthcare workers getting sick from COVID-19. To that end, the State remains focused on the vaccination of healthcare workers. Over the past week hospitals dramatically increased their rate of vaccinations from 63% to 72%. While the Governor applauded hospitals for their work, he stated there is still concern regarding the variance of vaccination rates among hospitals in each region. The Governor called upon local governments to ask those performing at a lower level to reach out to those hospitals to ask what they need to help get their percentages up and fix this disparity.

 

  • VACCINE ELIGIBILITY: While vaccine supply is limited it is important that New York remains fair in its distribution. The current eligible groups include healthcare workers, essential workers and those 65-years-of-age plus. The vaccines are distributed to different providers who each have a population they are prioritizing. The Governor reminded providers to not schedule appointments unless they have a specific allocation.

 

  • VACCINE FRAUD: New York is launching a new hotline to report vaccine fraud and abuse. There is a high demand for the vaccines, and the State has already seen scams.

 

  • PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS PREPARDNESS: The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us the importance of being prepared for the next public health crisis. New York is using this opportunity to put in place the best public health operation in the State in order to have the operational capacity and the competence to administer a plan.

  • FEDERAL GOVERNMENT – COVID-19: The Governor believes that the Biden administration understands the importance of public health and has taken long overdue actions, such as the national mask mandate. New York will be working alongside the Federal Government to address the ongoing pandemic. Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa is working with the Biden administration on their COVID-19 response, and the National Governor’s Association has a call with the White House tomorrow to discuss these issues.

 

  • FEDERAL GOVERNMENT – ECONOMY: The Governor called upon the Federal Government to repeal SALT and to provide state and local funding so states can recover without having to make drastic cuts or lay off essential workers. He reiterated that New York needs $15 billion in COVID-19 relief.

 

  • BUFFALO BILLS: The Governor thanked the Buffalo Bills for a great season. It has been many years since Buffalo Bills fans had the opportunity to watch the team play for the AFC championship. The team has a lot of great talent and young talent; and last night’s outcome does not diminish the accomplishments achieved. The Governor thanked owners Kim and Terry Pegula, Coach Sean McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane for all of their hard work to get fans in the stands safely. The approximately 7,000 fans the Bills had for each of their home playoff games felt like 70,000 – and that’s the Buffalo way. 

 

    • When asked by a reporter if contact tracing following the Bills home playoff games showed the spread of COVID-19, the Governor stated he does not believe that any spread was found, and reminded that this was a demonstration model. Everyone who attended the game was tested, socially distanced, wore masks, etc. All of this is key to reopening the economy.   

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