Despite statewide shortages, Westchester County Center in good shape with vaccine supply

State officials are warning New York's supply of COVID-19 vaccines could run out by the end of this week.

News 12 Staff

Jan 21, 2021, 7:53 PM

Updated 1,359 days ago

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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.