BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - New York has begun operations for COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
After the Food and Drug Administration on Friday officially approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, New York is to immediately receive 170,000 of the vaccines. Of that, 14,500 will go directly to nursing home residents and health care workers in Western New York.
"The state allocation is by percentage of population in that priority (group)," Governor Cuomo said. "Health care workers, Western New York has - let's pick a number - 7% of health care workers in the state. They get 7% of the allocation. Whatever that actual percentage is. We did it on a numerical basis."
The initial vaccine shipment is a promising sign of the end of the pandemic that has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans. However, there are still hurdles. New York is still awaiting another vaccine created by Moderna. The state is expected to receive 346,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and there's no word yet of how many of those vaccines will come to Western New York.
In addition to nursing home residents and workers, frontline medical workers will also receive the vaccine priority. Then, essential workers, emergency responders, teachers, food handlers, and transportation workers will get their turn to receive the vaccine. Older adults and those with medical conditions are also among the first to receive the vaccine.
It's expected to take months before the vaccine is widely available to the general public.
The state is not yet delivering vaccines to municipal governments, though there are plans underway in Western New York's counties to create a distribution plan. Erie County last week announced a partnership with logistical experts to provide storage and transportation of the vaccine.
"The vaccination plan is constantly evolving and will change over time," Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said. "The executive summary is coming. The actual plan is in draft form and is being finalized right now. It will always be in draft form. I think people are looking to see if it's going to my doctor or in my neighborhood. That's not going to be in the plan. Right now, we've identified three strategic locations in Erie County to be mass vaccination sites but we're also looking at smaller sites that are going to be available that we'll be able to provide to the public."
Niagara County is preparing to create a drive-thru vaccination site where they estimate vaccinating 500 people per hour. However, like other county governments, they are not expecting to receive the vaccines until several weeks or months.
"Those who remember H1N1, we did mass vaccination clinics throughout Niagara County in 2009 and 2010," Niagara County Public Health Director Dan Stapleton said. "The major difference was that the vaccine was received much earlier in the pandemic than what was received now. It definitely gave us some example of what to expect, just on a grander scale."
Stapleton estimates that Niagara County Health Department will receive vaccines in February.
