NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — New York plans to establish an independent task force to ensure any coronavirus vaccines approved by the federal government is safe for residents to take, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.
At a press conference, the governor said the task force will be made up of scientists, doctors and health experts. They will be tasked with advising state officials on the safety and effectiveness of any vaccine.
“I think the way we have handled COVID has been a model for the country,” Cuomo said. “I think we should do the same thing with vaccines. We should be a model for the country.”
Cuomo notes that New York is taking the lead in creating a task force to ensure the vaccine is not rushed to the public, “because the federal government has shown they are incompetent on this issue.”
“Administering a vaccine to every New Yorker, this is a massive undertaking,” the governor stressed.
He wants New York State to have “the best vaccination program” in the county and says the task force will have 16 people on it to work out the logistics of vaccine distribution. They will also work out guidelines to determine who receives vaccinations first.
“The vaccine plan will include prioritization of the vaccine, who gets the vaccine first, based on medical standards, not anything else,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo says New York State will need around 40 million doses of any approved vaccines for the state’s population of roughly 19 million, because some vaccines could require two doses.
The governor notes that the state continues to see positive trends in coronavirus cases with a positivity rate of just 1.02% on Wednesday.
In total, New York has confirmed 452,847 coronavirus cases. An additional two people died from the virus on Wednesday, bringing the statewide total to 25,439.