Editor’s note: This story and the headline were updated after an aide to Senator Schumer clarified his comments at an event in Syracuse on Tuesday.
Syracuse, NY – Within a month, the federal government will step up vaccine distribution in central New York in an effort to vaccinate more people and reverse eligibility restrictions, according to US Senator Chuck Schumer.
“The federal government is taking over the vaccines, because when the state and localities do, they don’t have enough information,” said Schumer in Syracuse on Tuesday. “The federal government, within a month, will establish centers across downtown New York that will remove all of these requirements and people can just queue up and get vaccines.”
An adviser to Schumer said later that it is not certain that new vaccination centers will be opened, but the federal money will complement the resources and the supply of vaccines in the existing locations, administered by the state and the county. Eligibility restrictions will not be removed, but a larger offer will mean speeding up the flexibility process for those who can obtain it.
Schumer said the money to supplement local vaccination sites is included in Covid’s $ 1.9 trillion relief bill recently passed by the Senate. The bill includes $ 4 billion for the acquisition and testing of the Covid-19 vaccine.
“When it passes through the state … they have a lot of requirements,” he said. “’Oh, will you be 65 in three months? Forget. Go home.’ That kind of thing.”
Vaccinations are currently limited to people who meet certain criteria. This can include age requirements, pre-existing conditions or the nature of someone’s work. Teachers and nurses, for example, can get the vaccine, regardless of age or health status.
Schumer said he hopes that enough people will be vaccinated by June so that some parts of normal life can return.
Schumer’s comments came on the same day that Governor Andrew Cuomo expanded eligibility for the vaccine to include people 60 years of age or older and some more “essential” civil servants.