As soon as next week, the government expects an additional 346,000 doses from drug maker Modernna, which is still waiting for FDA approval for its vaccine for emergency use.
Those initial blocks will cover only a quarter of the 1.8 million people who have been given priority to be vaccinated in the first phase of distribution in the state. It will take some time to get the most priority vaccines – state officials plan to complete the first phase in January.
New York officials expect to receive the Pfizer vaccine in three waves this week from Michigan, Kalamazoo. Most exports are expected to land in Albany, the capital of New York, and New York City, and they will go to about 90 sites with proper cold storage, mostly to hospitals. Some quantities will be carried into the state.
The levels, which arrived on Monday at 5:40 a.m., landed at Kennedy International Airport and were trucked to Queen’s Hospital earlier than expected by Guomo executives, who tracked the 63-pound vials through a UPS phone app.
Phase II vaccines include so-called essential workers, a broader type of work that is not yet defined, but may include police officers, firefighters, teachers, pharmacists, grocery store employees, public transport workers, and more. At this stage the general population includes people with comorbidities and basic health conditions, who are particularly at risk of contracting the virus.
In the region, authorities have begun preparations for a vaccine visit.
In New Jersey, almost 18,000 deaths Connected with the virus, nurses in Newark, the state’s most severely affected city, will be given the first dose of the vaccine. Staff at University Hospital, New Jersey’s only public hospital, will be in the first row, starting Tuesday at 8 p.m., state officials said.
Vaccinations will soon begin at five additional hospitals with subjero freezers in Camden, Atlantic City, Hokensock, New Brunswick and Morristown, officials said.