Albany, N.Y - Governor Cuomo holding a briefing today said we are going to see the increase in COVID19 through the holidays.
After that surge ends, Cuomo says we will need to pivot to a vaccination program and deal with issues like, how fair, how fast, how inclusive, how much federal funding, how many people will participate in receiving a vaccine.
Cuomo says New York's first vaccine deliver (Pfizer) will be enough doses for 170,000 New Yorkers. Cuomo says if all safety and efficacy approvals are granted New York will receive these doses by December 15th.
Cuomo said that experts have told him that to return to a normal economy 75%-80% of the population needs to be vaccinated.
He reiterated that a separate panel which he named will review any federal Food & Drug Administration approval of a vaccine to build confidence among New Yorkers. Cuomo says he did not create vaccine skepticism; he’s responding to it.
He said the statewide infection rate has risen to 4.6% after months in summer of under 1%. The number of Covid-19 patients in New York hospitals increased by 150 overnight, to 3,924.