New York sending out more community vaccination prep kits

NEW YORK - New York will be sending more vaccination preparation kits to senior housing complexes and churches in an effort to ensure fairness in vaccine distributions, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday.

The kits include syringes, vials, room dividers, privacy curtains, cleaning supplies, personal protective gear and other items. They also include instructions on how to set up a vaccination site.

New York deployed the first kits last week to five New York City Housing Authority senior citizen complexes and eight churches and cultural centers where nearly 4,200 people eligible to receive the vaccine were vaccinated, Cuomo said.

However, many sites throughout the city were closed due to a lack of vaccine over the weekend. A spokesperson for the Mayor said that last week's appointments have been rescheduled for this week.

Kits are now being sent to four additional New York City senior complexes and eight other churches statewide, with plans to vaccine another 3,000 people at those locations by Tuesday. Locations in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Buffalo will be receiving the kits.

The kits are part of an effort to ensure vaccinations in Black, Latino, and other communities where COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact, the governor said.

The next round of coronavirus vaccine doses is expected to arrive in New York by the middle of the week.

So far, just two million of the seven million eligible New Yorkers have received the coronavirus vaccine.

Saturday, the governor's office reported 144 more deaths statewide from the coronavirus. More than 8,800 people were hospitalized, a drop of 44 compared with Friday's data.

With the Associated Press.