New York launched a new website
about the COVID-19 vaccine with everything you need to know. It provides New
Yorkers with a one-stop location for accurate and up to date information on the
vaccine, safety, distribution priorities and more. On the site, New Yorkers can
find general information about the vaccine, a detailed Frequently Asked
Questions section that provides facts about the vaccine's safety and efficacy,
and other questions you may have.
At 9:14 AM on December 14th,
ICU nurse Sandra Lindsay received the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. She was
the first New Yorker to be inoculated. Lindsay works at Long Island Jewish
Medical Center in Queens. The institution has seen over 100,000 Covid-19 cases
since March. The moment was captured on film and widely broadcast.
In the ensuing days, inoculations
have been administered to high-risk hospital workers (emergency room workers,
ICU staff and Pulmonary Department staff), nursing home residents, nursing home
staff, all long-term and congregate care residents and staff, EMS workers,
other health care workers, coroners and medical examiners.
READ MORE: Are you a vaccine skeptic?
170,000 doses of this vaccine
have arrived in New York State. Additional doses will follow later this month.
21,720 people already received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine as part of the Phase
3 trials that tested its efficacy. (Of those, there were only eight Covid-19
cases, with 162 cases among those who received a placebo.)
The
Vaccine Distribution and Implementation Task Force is comprised of experts in
public health, immunization, government operations, data management and vaccine
distribution and administration. This task force will advise the set up
and operation of the state’s Covid-19 vaccination program.
The NYS Department of Health,
the CDC, and the FDA strongly advise: while the vaccination process is
underway, all New Yorkers should wear masks, practice social
distancing, and avoid small and large gatherings.
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