New York State is taking its battle to defeat COVID-19 to college campuses, offering direct delivery of vaccines for students and employing the public SUNY and CUNY systems as models for the program, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Monday.
Speaking at a livestreamed event at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood, Cuomo said the state is inviting colleges, including private ones, to help kill off what he called a “beast” by vaccinating students before they return home after the spring semester.
“The State of New York announces today we will be giving direct allocations to schools, colleges, universities, so they can vaccinate their students in their facilities, and let’s stamp this beast to death while we can,” he said.
“This is the moment of opportunity,” he added. “We have COVID on the run.”
Initially the state will allocate 21,000 doses of vaccine for SUNY residential and non-commuter students, and 14,000 for private colleges, Cuomo said later in a statement.
Recent increases in vaccine supply from the federal government — which allowed the expansion of vaccine eligibility to New Yorkers 16 and older — presented an opportunity to reach the young population through the state’s higher education system, he said.
Maurie McInnis, president of Stony Brook University, which is part of SUNY, said, “This is a banner day for Suffolk County and for SUNY students, and I am so pleased all SUNY students will have access to vaccines.”
Cuomo noted that positivity levels are rising in young people in New York, going recently from about 9% to 14%.
“We are now focusing on students,” he said. “Let’s use the schools as the base for the vaccine. It makes all the sense in the world. We have the staff at the school. We have the students at the school. Let’s vaccinate them at the schools.”
While younger people may be less vulnerable to the coronavirus that has afflicted many state residents, causing severe illness and death over the last year, he said their inoculation can help reduce risk to themselves and others.
“We need herd immunity,” Cuomo said. “We need every New Yorker vaccinated, and that includes New York’s young people and students.”
GETTING COVID-19 VACCINES IN NY
Who qualifies for COVID-19 shots?
The State of New York has expended its eligibility list for vaccines against COVID-19 several times, expanding the groups of people included in the phases. This is a summary of the eligible groups. The following are the qualifying categories, as revised on March 29.
Group in Phase 1A
The state said about 2.1 million state residents belong in this group, including:
- Health care workers at hospitals who interact with patients.
- Residents and staff at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
- Dentists, psychologists and others deemed health care workers with direct contact with patients.
- Employees of Federally Qualified Health Centers.
- EMT volunteers and staff.
- Coroners, medical examiners, some funeral workers.
- Staff and residents of state facilities for people with developmental disabilities, mental health care and addiction services.
- Employees at urgent care centers.
- Individuals administering COVID-19 vaccines, including local health department staff.
- Staff at ambulatory centers.
- Home care and hospice workers.
- Residents and staff at other congregate care facilities.
Group in Phase 1B
The state estimated about 3.2 million residents belong in this group, including:
- People 75 years of age and older.
- Teachers and education workers, including in-person college instructors, substitute teachers, student teachers, school administrators, paraprofessional staff, support staff, contractors in schools and bus drivers.
- First responders, including police; firefighters; state police; sheriff’s offices; county, town and village police departments, and other law enforcement offices.
- Public safety workers, including dispatchers and technicians.
- Public transit workers, including airport, railroad, subway, bus, ferry and Port Authority employees.
- Corrections officers.
- Other sworn and civilian personnel, such as court and peace officers.
- Grocery store workers dealing with the public.
- Individuals living in homeless shelters.
Following federal recommendations:
Added at the discretion of local governments:
- Taxi drivers.
- Restaurant workers.
- Residents of facilities for developmentally disabled people.
- Hotel workers who interact with the public.
Other expansions of eligibility:
- State residents age 60 and older (Since March 10, 2021).
- “Public-facing” government and public employees (Since March 17, 2021).
- Workers for not-for-profit organizations who provide “public-facing” services (Since March 17, 2021).
- Building service workers who are “public-facing” employees (Since March 17, 2021).
- State residents age 50 and older (Since March 23, 2021).
Since March 30, 2021:
Since April 6, 2021:
SOURCE: New York State, Northwell Health.
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