Johnson City, N.Y. - Governor Cuomo was in Johnson City in the Southern Tier today, giving his update on COVID-19 in the state.
He announced that starting Thursday anyone 16 and over can walk into any state-run vaccination site and get a vaccination without an appointment. He also said other health departments and county-run facilities can do the same if they wish. Cuomo said the state was doing about 175,000 vaccines statewide every 24 hours, it is now down to 115,000, so opening up the process is possible at this point.
He announced that New York will adopt the CDC's new guidelines regarding masks outdoors, anyone who has been vaccinated does not need to wear a mask outside if in small groups.
He noted that COVID is still a threat, as 26 people died in the past 24 hours.
He said the state positivity rate 2.6 %, the lowest since November. Hospitalizations are down. He said Western New York still has the highest positivity rate, at 3.4%