While state officials
are warning New York's supply of COVID-19 vaccines could run out by the end of
this week, Westchester officials say they are in good shape with their vaccine
supplies.
At the Westchester County
Center, hundreds of people are getting vaccinated every day. But now, Gov.
Andrew Cuomo is warning that the state's supply is not meeting the demand. This is due to the fact that the federal government is not giving the state enough vaccines to meet that demand.
According to state officials, New York is averaging about 65,000 doses a
day through 1,200 distribution sites.
Gov. Cuomo says New York state only has about two or
three days of supplies left, and he's warning
distribution sites not to schedule any appointments unless they know their
allocation for the next week. Otherwise, they run the risk of having to cancel
those appointments and that's already happening in New York City.
On Wednesday, Cuomo warned
just how dire the situation is in the state.
"At this rate, we only
have two or three days of supply," Cuomo said.
Cuomo added that he is
calling on vaccine providers to prioritize distribution.
He said pharmacies must focus
on vaccinating those who are 65 and up, hospitals should take care of health
care workers, and city and county health departments should prioritize
essential workers. "We want to make sure distributors don't schedule any
appointments for which they don't have a definitive allocation because we don't
know what we're going to get next week," Cuomo said.
Cuomo said the state is expecting the vaccine supply to increase now that the
Biden administration is in charge. He also said the state is seeing more
confirmed cases of the UK strain and that he's calling for international
travelers to get tested before entering the U.S.
Officials
and medical staff at the County Center tell News 12 they
have plenty of vaccines to administer, even the second round of doses.
Larry Kunze, of Yonkers, just received his first COVID-19 shot, and says he's not worried about getting his
second dose during his appointment three weeks from today. "They ask you if you're
available in three weeks, and you have to come back for the second shot,"
says Kunze.
Others who spoke with News 12 say there is some level of concern. "I heard Cuomo and he's clearly concerned and
he needs to be, that's his job but I feel like
they're working on it," says Mia Debethune, of Hastings. "I'm very concerned about
getting my second shot. I'm an educator, I'm a principal at a special-ed
pre-school," says Jill
Karliner.