Phase 1B New Yorkers can start scheduling COVID-19 vaccines next week

NEW YORK (WBEN) -- New York will start allowing Phase 1B residents to schedule COVID-19 vaccinations next week, as the state will be expanding its vaccine distribution network, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday.

New Yorkers who fall under Phase 1B of the state's COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan — including residents over the age of 75, education workers, police officers and firefighters, public transit workers and public safety workers — will be able to start reserving vaccine slots on Monday, Jan. 11, Cuomo said at a news briefing.

Thousands of new sites, including urgent care centers, private doctors' offices and pharmacies, will join the state's vaccine distribution network next week, he said. The state has also expanded its "pool of trainees who can administer COVID vaccines" to include healthcare workers like licensed practical nurses, pharmacists, dentists, podiatrists, midwives and EMTs.

"On Monday, you can start to schedule appointments. Pharmacies will start coming online. Some Monday, more on Wednesday," he said. "We're going to have thousands of providers coming online next week."

Distribution sites will be required to prioritize healthcare workers, but 1B residents will be allowed to start receiving vaccines on Monday if sites have available doses and slots, he noted.

"On the distribution network, pharmacies, et cetera, we don't want infected vaccine workers giving out [vaccines]," he explained. "We don't want them coming in contact with the people."

Most 1B residents, however, should not expect to get vaccinated right away, as the state has a limited supply of the vaccine, Cuomo warned.

"Here's the reality, dose of reality: to finish 1A, we need another 1 million doses. 1B, we need 3.2 million doses," he said. "Put them together, you need 4.2 million doses. We get 300,000 doses per week."

"At this rate, it will take us 14 weeks to do 1A and 1B. Fourteen weeks is an eternity of time," he added. "Don't be surprised if that appointment is three months from now."

Vaccine distribution could speed up if the federal government starts sending more doses to New York, he noted.

In a tweet following Cuomo's news briefing, Mayor Bill de Blasio said New York City would begin vaccinating city workers and elderly residents on Monday, without immediately providing a rollout plan.

The Javits Center in Manhattan will begin distributing "thousands" of COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday, Jan. 13, Cuomo noted.

New York state reported 161 new COVID-19-related fatalities on Friday, Cuomo said at his briefing.

As of Thursday, 8,561 New Yorkers were hospitalized with COVID-19, 1,475 of whom were in intensive care and 912 of whom were on ventilators, he said.

Of the 243,903 COVID-19 test results that came back in the state on Thursday, 18,832, or 7.72 percent, were positive, he added.