Coronavirus Updates: Governors Demand Answers From Trump On Vaccine Rollout - Gothamist

musognaol.blogspot.com

This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Sunday, October 18th, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.

New York City is in Phase 4 of reopening now, which includes zoos, botanical gardens, museums, and gyms. Certain parts of Brooklyn and Queens are under a zoned shutdown. A look at preparing for the spread of coronavirus is here, and if you have lingering questions about the virus, here is our regularly updated coronavirus FAQ. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.

Here's the latest:

1:46 p.m.: As Governor Andrew Cuomo looks ahead to what he is calling the final phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, he and all of the country's other governors are asking the White House how exactly the rollout of millions of vaccines will work once a vaccine is approved.

The National Governors Association, chaired by Cuomo, is asking the Trump administration for answers to 36 questions on funding, allocation and supplies, safety monitoring, and information transparency regarding a future COVID-19 vaccine.

"Thirty-six questions from the governors sent to the White House, basically, 'How does this work?'" Cuomo said during a press conference in Manhattan on Sunday. "We understand the concept, but how does it work?"

Details—like how uninsured people can access the vaccine, refrigeration of the vaccine, and how it would be prioritized—make the "difference between life and death in a situation like this," Cuomo said.

Though there is currently no vaccine approved in the U.S., Cuomo is looking ahead at what he described as the final phase of the pandemic should a vaccine be ready for distribution as soon as wintertime. Seven months into the global health crisis, this undertaking will be unlike anything done so far during the pandemic, Cuomo contends.

It took seven months for New York State to test 12.9 million people for coronavirus—an operational "nightmare," as Cuomo put it.

To vaccinate everybody in New York State, it would likely require 40 million doses of the vaccine, since there are about 20 million people in the state and each person would likely require two rounds of vaccinations, depending on the vaccine.

Cuomo doesn't have much confidence President Donald Trump will respond soon. Currently, he said, governors have a "draft plan" based on "sketchy information."

"Once we get the questions answered, then we can come up with a real plan," Cuomo said. "[The governors] know how this story works because they've gone through it. It's not going to be that the federal government says, 'Don't worry, we're going to administer it.' The chances of that happening are zero."

"So the governors are saying, before you get to shift the responsibility, we need to have these questions answered," Cuomo said. "They are questions that anyone would ask. A high school student who was posed with this challenge -- design a program to administer vaccines -- would ask the same questions."

Cuomo has also put together a task force to review a vaccine before he recommends it to New Yorkers. Vaccinations in NY would be prioritized based on risk of the coronavirus and whether or not someone is an essential worker.

The governors sent a letter on Thursday requesting a meeting with the White House on the vaccination plan. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Sunday, Cuomo also announced ski resorts would be permitted to reopen at a 50% indoor capacity beginning November 6th with social distancing, mask wearing, and restricting ski lifts to members of the same party.

Mountain capacity would be reduced by 25% on "peak" days or if some ski paths are closed, he said.

Though Cuomo was looking ahead at a vaccination plan, the virus remains steadily spreading through the state's "red zones." NY's red zones had a 3.19% positivity rate. Statewide, including the red zones, the positivity rate was 1.08%.

Brooklyn and Queens red zone positivity rates dropped to 4.92% and 1.89%, respectively.

Seven people died from coronavirus in NY on Saturday, bringing the official death toll to 25,644. That number does not include probable coronavirus deaths.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Health - Latest - Google News
October 19, 2020 at 12:58AM
https://ift.tt/35ayuHB

Coronavirus Updates: Governors Demand Answers From Trump On Vaccine Rollout - Gothamist
Health - Latest - Google News
https://ift.tt/2zrj9Ud


Bagikan Berita Ini