NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Governor Kathy Hochul urged New Yorkers on Wednesday to the get the new COVID-19 vaccine once it is available later this week as cases continue to rise.
Hochul said all New Yorkers 6 months and older should get the new vaccine as winter approaches.
Hochul emphasized that the vaccine is "a new vaccine built specifically to match these circulating strains."
More than 90% of the COVID viruses circulating are closely related to that strain, according to CDC. The CDC also announced that testing showed the updated vaccine is effective at increasing immunity to the more recent variant, called BA.2.86.
"Thank you for getting vaccinated in the past, but that is not protecting you today," Hochul said during the briefing. "Get the vaccine. That is the best way by far to protect yourself and those around you. And we're smart, we're resilient, we protect each other. We've done this since March of 2020. No reason to stop now. And don't think about just yourself because there's a lot of people affected."
The new 2023-24 vaccine, previously authorized by the federal Food and Drug Administration, is expected to be available for New Yorkers in the following days at pharmacies and physicians’ offices, as well as other health care providers.