ALBANY – Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday announced that New York will open up COVID-19 vaccination eligibility to those with serious health conditions beginning Feb. 15.
For more than three weeks, potentially tens of thousands of New Yorkers who are under 65 but afflicted with comorbidities that make them vulnerable to coronavirus — including those with compromised immune systems — have been clamoring for the state to follow CDC guidance and allow them to be vaccinated.
Adults of any age with the following comorbidities and underlying conditions are now eligible for the vaccine. The list is subject to change as additional scientific evidence is published and as the state obtains and analyzes additional state-specific data, according to Cuomo's office:
- Cancer (current or in remission, including 9/11-related cancers)
- Chronic kidney disease
- Pulmonary disease, including but not limited to, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), asthma (moderate-to-severe), pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, and 9/11 related pulmonary diseases
- Intellectual and developmental disabilities including Down Syndrome
- Heart conditions, including but not limited to heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies, or hypertension (high blood pressure)
Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) including but not limited to solid organ transplant or from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, use of other immune weakening medicines, or other causes - Severe obesity (body mass index of 40 kg/m2), obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but less then 40 kg/m2)
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease or Thalassemia
- Type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus
- Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
- Neurologic conditions including but not limited to Alzheimer's Disease or dementia
- Liver disease
"We're committed to vaccinating vulnerable populations that have suffered the most as we distribute a strictly limited supply of vaccines, and people with comorbidities are 94 percent of the state's COVID deaths," Cuomo said in a statement. "That's why we'll open eligibility to people with comorbidities starting Feb. 15 and give hospitals the ability to use extra doses they have to address that population. Local governments have a week to prepare for the new change — they need to get ready now."
Churchill: Cuomo announcement a step toward vaccine sanity
The governor also released data showing racial disparities among New Yorkers who have been vaccinated.
About 17 percent of people deemed “essential workers” are Black, Cuomo said, but only about 5 percent of vaccine recipients among essential workers have been Black. Similarly, Hispanics and Latinos make up about 14 percent of essential workers, but have comprised 10 percent of the vaccine recipients among that workforce.
Among another group currently eligible for the vaccine — people 65 and over — 13 percent are Black. But only 4 percent of vaccine recipients among this group have been Black.
About 12 percent of that population is Latino or Hispanic, but they make up only 5 percent of recipients among the group, Cuomo said.
Cuomo said the disparities are attributable both to lack of access to the vaccine, and to distrust among minority communities for what Cuomo called “bona-fide” reasons, citing the "Tuskegee Experiment" as an example. During the 40-year secret experiment, the U.S. Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied the effects of syphilis in Black men without telling them they were ill.
“But, it’s not true with this vaccine,” Cuomo said.
New York has begun an advertising campaign to build confidence in the vaccine in minority communities. To address lack of access, a mass-vaccination site at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx began operating on Friday.
At Friday’s press briefing, several Yankees representatives including Hall of Fame relief pitcher Mariano Rivera appeared. Rivera is among the people serving as "validators" for the vaccine in minority communities.
"I used to pitch here and save games," Rivera said. "Now, this is about saving lives."
Cuomo's breakdown also showed that among hospital workers — a population with relatively easy access to the vaccine — the racial disparity was somewhat different.
Both white and Black workers have been under-vaccinated, as compared to those races’ overall representations within the hospital field, the data showed. The vaccination rates of Latino and Asian hospital workers slightly exceeded their representations within the workforce.
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