Those initial blocks will cover only a quarter of the 1.8 million people who were given priority to be vaccinated in the first phase of distribution in the state. It will take some time to get the most priority vaccines – state officials plan to complete the first phase in January.
Phase II vaccines include so-called essential workers, a broader type of work that is not yet defined, but may include police officers, firefighters, teachers, pharmacists, grocery store employees, public transport workers, and more. At this stage the general population includes people with comorbidities and basic health conditions, who are particularly at risk of contracting the virus.
In the region, authorities have begun preparations for a vaccine visit.
In New Jersey, nearly 18,000 deaths have been linked to the virus, with nurses in Newark, the state’s most severely affected city, being vaccinated with the first dose. Staff at University Hospital, New Jersey’s only public hospital, will be in the first row, starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday, state officials said.
Vaccinations will soon begin at five additional hospitals with subjero freezers in Camden, Atlantic City, Hokensock, New Brunswick and Morristown, officials said.
As of Friday evening, state officials are still struggling to understand the details of the highly anticipated arrival of the vaccine as they waited for the federal government to deliver the Pfizer vaccine, which was developed in conjunction with the emergency utilization authorization BioNtech. The approval came late that evening, finally setting the chain of events that brought the vaccine to New York.
Even in the most uncertain situation, the government will not allow Andrew M. Kumo said the necessary preventive measures – “the most aggressive distribution management plan” – were in place to deliver the vaccines to hospitals and other sites. New York, like other states, has also opted for a federal program in partnership with pharmaceutical companies CVS and Walcreen to provide vaccines in nursing homes.
“The vaccine is coming, and we’re ready to administer it,” he said. Cuomo said Friday.
The governor, who is a third-time Democrat, announced Friday that he had given his blessing to the Pfizer vaccine, following concerns that President Trump would speed up vaccine production for political purposes. Mr. Some of Cuomo’s conservative critics have called Mr. The task force was provoked by a political maneuver to undermine Trump, and this would delay the arrival of the vaccine in New York.