As Biden Signs Coronavirus Vaccine Order, NYC's Supply Nears End

NEW YORK CITY — An executive order by President Joe Biden could give New York City's flagging COVID-19 vaccine supply a shot in the arm.

Biden signed a flurry of executive orders Thursday aimed squared at the coronavirus, including activating the Defense Production Act to produce more vaccine-related supplies, the Washington Post reported.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who earlier called on Biden to do exactly that, praised the move.

"FINALLY!" de Blasio tweeted.

The move could indeed be the "game changer" de Blasio believes, but Hizzoner earlier Thursday acknowledged it'd do little to address the city's immediate vaccine predicament.

"Defense Production Act allows the United States government to utilize all the companies in that process and get them unified under a single plan," he said. "But I do think by definition, that will take weeks to have some of the effect we want."

This week, health officials had to cancel 23,000 first doses as the city's vaccine supply ran low. Another resupply likely won't come until next week, leaving a growing web of provider sites from hospitals to mass vaccination centers sitting largely idle.

De Blasio said the city likely will run out by Friday. Likewise, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the entire state supply will run dry around the same time.

About 90 percent of New York City's vaccine supply has been distributed, according to state data released Thursday afternoon.

City health Commissioner Dave Chokshi said the shortfall won't affect vaccine recipients scheduled for their second dose. He said those appointments will be honored but he also pressed for permission — that has so far not been forthcoming — to use some reserved second dose shots for the first dose.

"In fact, there are about 30,000 second doses that will have been delivered to New York City by the end of today," Chokshi said. "The idea is that we can continue honoring our second dose appointments over the next few days and, indeed, for the next few weeks but be able to partially use that supply to administer more first doses of the vaccine with the idea that future supply would then be able to backfill our second doses over time."