Archive: NYS COVID-19 Resources & Information
1/21/21

In the rapidly changing dynamics of combating the Coronavirus, information is updated constantly. This archive is being provided as an additional resource for those seeking to learn more about how New York State is addressing COVID-19.

LATEST NEWS & INFORMATION - 1/21/21     

From Governor Cuomo's latest Zoom debriefing:

OVERVIEW 

  • Day 326
  • Today is the one year anniversary of first Covid-19 case being found in the US.
  • Statewide Positivity rate 6.84%
  • 195,409 tests conducted
  • 185 deaths
  • 9,273 Hospitalizations up 37
  • 1,721 ICU patients, up 7
  • 1,044 Intubations, down 5 

REGIONAL HOSPITALIZATIONS 

- Finger Lakes: 741 (0.06%)
- Western NY: 487 (0.04%)
- Southern Tier: 243 (0.04%)
- Mid-Hudson: 1,107 (0.05%)
- Central New York: 320 (0.04%)
- Mohawk Valley: 297 (0.06%)
- Capital Region: 553 (0.05%)
- NYC: 3,745 (0.04%)
- Long Island: 1,671 (0.06%)
- North Country: 109 (0.03%) 

POSITIVITY RATE 

- Finger Lakes: 6.47%
- Western NY: 6.45%
- Southern Tier: 3.57%
- Mid-Hudson: 7.00%
- Central New York: 5.77%
- Mohawk Valley: 7.70%
- Capital Region: 7.08%
- NYC: 3,745 5.70%
- Long Island: 7.47%
- North Country: 7.13%
- Manhattan: 3.36%
- Bronx: 6.90%
- Queens: 6.48%
- Staten Island: 6.11%
- Brooklyn 5.80% 

VACCINE

  • There is a foot race between how many people we can get vaccinated and how fast the virus is spreading.
  • Infection rate is on the decline as long as the new strain doesn't take over.
    Statewide percentage of hospital workers vaccinated is 65%.
  • Currently the state has 145,789 first doses on hand and is averaging 65,000 doses per day. At this rate supply will be exhausted in 2-3 days.
  • There are 1,200 vaccine distributors around the state with others prepared to come online.
  • There are more distributors than products so distributors will run out are recommended that distributors do not schedule more appointments than they have doses for. 

Vaccinations administration by Region: 

- North County: 96%
- Finger Lakes: 88%
- Western New York: 89%
- Southern Tier: 99%
- Central New York: 87%
- Mid-Hudson: 80%
- NYC: 82%
- Long Island: 90%
- Capital Region 78%
- Mohawk Valley 74% 

Pace of first-dose administration at healthcare distribution sites is accelerating: 

  • Week 1 34,630
  • Week 2 54,491
  • Week 3 120,537
  • Week 4 235,462
  • Week 5 329,849 

Vaccine Fairness 

  • There are currently three groups eligible for vaccines. Group 1A includes healthcare workers, 1B includes essential workers and the third group includes the population 65+.
  • Healthcare workers are 21% of the eligible population to be vaccinated, essential workers are 27% and population 65+ is 52%.
  • Because of this breakdown, vaccines are to be distributed following this ratio.
  • The state is distributing the vaccine by region and that each type of provider in the state has a priority with pharmacies used for 65+, hospitals for healthcare workers, and City/county departments of health for essential workers.
  • Cuomo warned that at the current rate with weekly supply the current eligible population is going to take at least 7 months to vaccinate and that because of this, doses must be allocated fairly.
  • Social equity in distribution is a main priority.
  • Cuomo urged President Biden to increase vaccine supply to states immediately. 

New mutations remain a concern: 

  • 4 new UK Strain cases were identified in NYS.
  • No cases of the South African or Brazilian Strains in NYS at this time.
  • More mutations may be more deadly or even vaccine resistant, adding that it is vital that all international travelers be tested. 

FROM THE Q&A 

On why there is no demographic data of who is vaccinated being presented yet:

  • The state does not control all information being collected and that once information is confirmed it will be released. 

On whether counties without state-run clinics are being inadvertently shorted doses of the vaccine: 

  • The federal government gives the state a vaccine allocation and the state allocates vaccines regionally.
  • The state is also tracking the home addresses of vaccinated people and is hoping to add more distribution sites in rural areas when there is an increase in supply. 

On if state sites are making more vaccine appointments than they have supply for:

  • State run facilities are not canceling any appointments as they established appointments at a very conservative level. There was one case at Stony Brook where an appointment registration link was shared prematurely but this situation is under investigation. 

On whether there are any regulations stopping people from traveling to vaccination sites outside of their region:

  • There are no state regulations on this.
  • State-run sites are open to any NYS residents, but NYC sites are only available for city residents.