N.Y. COVID hospitalization rates drop to lowest level in months amid vaccination acceleration
New York’s coronavirus hospitalization rate fell to its lowest level in more than two months Friday as the state’s vaccination pace continued to pick up, according to officials.
Gov. Cuomo said 5,626 New Yorkers were hospitalized statewide with COVID-19 as of Friday afternoon, the lowest level since Dec. 12. In the 24-hour period ending Friday, Cuomo said 179,038 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered in New York, an all-time high, with more than 4 million shots administered so far in the state in total.
“Defeating COVID-19 is front and center in New York State, and declining positivity rates and hospitalizations are aiding our efforts to vaccinate more New Yorkers, reopen the economy and get to the light at the end of the tunnel,” Cuomo said.
At the same time, another 95 New Yorkers died from COVID-19 in the latest reporting window, according to Health Department data, underscoring that the pandemic is far from over. The state’s total death toll is approaching 39,000.
The governor, who’s facing bipartisan criticism for his administration’s alleged cover-up of coronavirus deaths at nursing homes, said it’s critical that New Yorkers continue to adhere to face mask and social distancing guidelines as the state seeks to vaccinate its way out of the pandemic.
“We’re still in a footrace to keep the infection rate down and drive vaccinations way up,” Cuomo said.
The governor also acknowledged he had received a letter from State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, State Senator Jamaal Bailey and other Bronx Democrats lamenting that the borough is not receiving an equitable share of vaccine doses.
He said he agrees with the Bronx Dems and vowed that the Department of Health will work “to ensure this inequity is immediately addressed.”
“Right now demand for the vaccine is still far outpacing our supply,” Cuomo said. “We will keep working with our federal partners and vast vaccine distribution network to dispatch doses as soon as we get them — with a focus on vulnerable and underserved communities — and get shots in arms as quickly and fairly as possible.”
