NEW YORK NOW - People above the age of 60 and certain public-facing essential workers will now be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, and several providers will now be allowed to vaccinate individuals they weren’t previously allowed to serve, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.
The change is expected to expand the pool of those seeking the COVID-19 vaccine in New York after the state’s supply got a boost from the federal government in recent weeks.
“You are going to see this ebb and flow in the supply from the federal government,” Cuomo said. “But the supply is increasing, and if the supply is increasing we can increase our distribution levels.”
Under the new rules, public-facing public employees, not-for-profit workers who provide public-facing services, and essential in-person public-facing building service workers will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting March 17.
Employees unsure of whether they’ll be eligible under the new rules can use the state’s online eligibility tool or call 1-833-NYS-4-VAX, or 1-833-697-4829.
New York is currently administering more than 100,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine each day, and plans to open 10 new mass vaccination sites in different areas of the state in the coming weeks.