Local Governments Can Expand COVID Vaccine Eligibility

With New York expected to receive an increased shipment of COVID-19 vaccines this month, localities are being granted the power to expand the category of individuals eligible to get immunized.

After months of grappling with a limited supply of vaccines from the federal government, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday that the state’s supply will increase to 20 percent for the next three weeks, a rise from the initial 16 percent bump. Approximately 7.1 million New Yorkers are currently eligible to receive the vaccine.

Given the overall increase, Cuomo is granting local governments the flexibility to add restaurant workers, taxi drivers and developmentally disabled facilities to the 1B vaccine prioritization group. That group currently consists of police, firefighters, public safety workers, educators, transit personnel and people 65 and up.

Health care workers, who have been eligible since the vaccine rolled out in December, are categorized as Phase 1A.

“We’re in a footrace to vaccinate the entire eligible population while continuing to keep the infection rate low,” Cuomo said. “We’re moving heaven and earth to administer as many doses as possible, but on a global level we are experiencing high demand and scarce amounts of the vaccine.”

It is unknown at this time if Westchester County or Putnam County officials will follow Cuomo’s recommendation.

With the increased supply, Cuomo said private pharmacies in the state charged with prioritizing the 65-plus population will now receive an additional 10 percent, or about 30,000 doses, directly from the federal government to supplement the doses allocated to them by the state.  

COVID-19 Update in Westchester & Putnam Counties 

Coronavirus cases in Westchester increased by 605 on Tuesday, bringing the total number of positive cases to 95,303 since the start of the pandemic.

There are now 10,283 active cases, an increase of five over the previous day, state data shows.

The county’s daily positivity rate is 5.75 percent with 10,522 tests administered Sunday. Overall, over 1.8 million COVID-19 tests have been dispensed in Westchester since March.

The county reported 10 more deaths on Tuesday, bringing the COVID-19-related death toll to 1,927, according to the state tracker. There have been 33 virus deaths this week, with 252 fatalities since Jan. 1.

As of Wednesday, there are 571 virus patients in Westchester hospitals, a number that has remained steady over the last three weeks.

Putnam County’s total caseload reached 7,423, with 39 additional positive cases recorded on Tuesday, state data shows. The county’s daily positivity rate is 6.39 percent, with 610 tests administered on Sunday.

Putnam currently has 902 active cases, a decrease of 35 over the previous day.

There have been 81 coronavirus-related deaths in Putnam since the start of the pandemic, with 14 overall fatalities reported since the start of 2021. No new deaths were added on Tuesday.

Statewide there were 8,215 new positive cases on Tuesday, with the daily positivity rate clocking in at 5.47 percent, state data shows.

There were 146 additional COVID-19-related fatalities, bringing the death toll to 35,466.

Statewide hospitalizations stand at 8,067, an increase of 64 over the previous day. Across New York there have been 1,427,379 positive coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.

Vaccine Numbers Update

As of Tuesday, New York’s health care distribution sites have received 1,554,450 first doses and administered 91 percent of those or 1,414,241. Seventy-six percent of first and second doses have been administered.

On Sunday, the county government has directly administered 23,351 vaccines to eligible residents, Latimer said, with 18,584 individuals inoculated since the County Center became a distribution site on Jan. 13. The county health department has immunized 4,767 people, he said.

Click HERE to see if you’re eligible to make an appointment. 

Westchester Active Coronavirus Cases by Municipality 

Here are the active cases by municipality in Westchester as of Tuesday. With a lag between the total number of cases confirmed by the state and the tally of cases by town, the total number of municipal cases might be slightly different than what the county’s active cases reflects.

• Ardsley – 36
• Bedford – 146
• Briarcliff Manor – 53
• Bronxville – 53
• Buchanan – 19
• Cortlandt – 296
• Croton-on-Hudson – 45
• Dobbs Ferry – 92
• Eastchester – 181
• Elmsford – 47
• Greenburgh – 392
• Harrison – 178
• Hastings-on-Hudson – 64
• Irvington – 51
• Larchmont – 52
• Lewisboro – 60
• Mamaroneck Town – 85
• Mamaroneck Village – 173
• Mount Kisco – 101
• Mount Pleasant – 220
• Mount Vernon – 795
• New Castle – 61
• New Rochelle – 891
• North Castle – 103
• North Salem – 30
• Ossining Town – 66
• Ossining Village – 334
• Peekskill – 297
• Pelham – 67
• Pelham Manor – 43
• Pleasantville – 65
• Port Chester – 305
• Pound Ridge – 18
• Rye Brook – 72
• Rye City – 109
• Scarsdale – 84
• Sleepy Hollow – 193
• Somers – 164
• Tarrytown – 141
• Tuckahoe – 71
• White Plains – 623
• Yonkers – 2,639
• Yorktown – 368