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COVID-19 vaccine open to anyone above age 15 starting Tuesday

Office of the Governor

New York will allow universal access to the COVID-19 vaccine for anyone above the age of 15 starting Tuesday.

The change is a huge change in eligibility, which opened up to those aged 30 and up last week. Previously, the vaccine was available only to those aged 50 and above, and others in targeted industries or living with certain conditions.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state will also renew its efforts to make the vaccine accessible to traditionally underserved communities. More than three-quarters of the state’s vaccine recipients have been white, per state data.

"As we continue to expand eligibility, New York will double down on making the vaccine accessible for every community to ensure equity, particularly for communities of color who are too often left behind," he said.

President Joe Biden had set a goal of May 1 for states to offer universal access to the vaccine. That has largely depended on supply, which was short at the beginning of the rollout.

But New York is now receiving more than 1 million doses of the vaccine from the federal government per week, allowing the state to administer more than 100,000 doses of the injection per day. More than 1.3 million doses were administered last week.
 

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