Mayor de Blasio calls for more local control, supply to vaccinate 500,000 New Yorkers a week

Mayor Bill de Blasio says he is happy that the state government is giving the city more freedom to get New Yorkers vaccinated.

News 12 Staff

Mar 10, 2021, 6:08 PM

Updated 1,302 days ago

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Mayor Bill de Blasio says he is happy that the state government is giving the city more freedom to get New Yorkers vaccinated.
As of today, anyone 60 and over can schedule their coronavirus vaccine appointment.
Pharmacies are able to give the vaccine to those over the age of 60, as well as teachers.
On March 17, all providers except pharmacies can vaccinate any eligible New Yorker.
This means sites like Yankee Stadium that are only open to Bronx residents will be open to any New York residents.
The mayor is urging for more local control from the state government, saying that this would allow the process of vaccinating people easier.
He says that there are groups that should be receiving the vaccine who aren’t eligible yet like sanitation and court workers.
De Blasio says the city has the ability to vaccinate 500,000 New Yorkers a week, but doesn’t have enough doses of the vaccine to hit that capacity.
He also addressed the growing concerns over the new variants of the coronavirus, which make up 51% of the current cases.
The mayor says his team of health experts is finding that the variants originating in New York City may be more infectious but not more deadly or resistant to the vaccine.