New York is lagging behind in Florida in its efforts to administer the coronavirus vaccine, federal data show, despite the boast of Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio of the Empire State’s best plan.
The Sunshine State has so far administered vaccines at a rate of 823 per 100,000 residents, according to the online tracker at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New York administered 723 vaccines per 100,000 residents, a rate about 14% below Florida’s pace, the tracker shows.
The tracker data is updated on December 30, due to delays in reporting during the holiday.
The figures cast doubt on de Blasio’s bold claim that 1 million New York City residents would be vaccinated in January – although the state has so far administered less than a third of the doses available.
Asked earlier this week about a delay in launching the vaccine for the NYPD, de Blasio acknowledged that the city could be moving faster, were it not for the strict state restrictions on who can receive the injection and when.
“This is something we do based on state guidelines and we are in constant communication with the state about it,” he said in part during a news conference on Tuesday. “Unquestionably, if we have authorization, we can act very quickly.”
Among the cases that highlight the disparity are Nathan Burkan Jr. and Greg Heinrich.
Burkan Jr., an 89-year-old Manhattan resident who suffered from congestive heart failure and a stroke, told the Post that he was unable to get the vaccine, despite being at high risk for the disease.
“Obviously my wife and I [who is 83] I would like to receive the vaccine now, ”he said.
But her daughter-in-law’s father, Heinrich, simply drove to his local library in Clermont, Florida, to get the vaccine recently – without even getting out of the car.
“I rolled down the car window and got my chance,” Heinrich, 72, told The Post about his experience with the drive-thru photo. “I didn’t have to get out of the car.”
Although the wait was long – about three hours – he simply had to relax in his car until a nurse gave him the injection, so he was on his way.
“Was it worth the wait? Absolutely!” he said. “It was painless.”
Heinrich said it is wrong for New York to delay distribution of the vaccine at the expense of some of those most at risk, such as Burkan Jr.
“If seniors like me can get the vaccine in Florida, why can’t they get it in New York?” he asked. “People aged 65 and over are much more vulnerable than younger people.”