NY Will Give 1M Coronavirus Vaccine Doses Directly To SOMOS

NEW YORK CITY — A massive bid to expand COVID-19 vaccine access to people of color will involve direct shipments of doses to a New York City nonprofit, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Cuomo on Friday announced the state will partner with SOMOS — which has a 2,500-provider network in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens — and provide it with 1 million doses.

"The state is going to be providing vaccines directly to SOMOS so they can get those needles in those arms in those hard-to-reach communities," he said.

The announcement came during a news conference that was closed to the press "due to COVID restrictions," according to the governor's office.

But Cuomo appeared at New Settlement Community Center in the Bronx flanked by a crowd that included Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

The governor — who once held daily, if not more, briefings with reporters — has taken fewer and fewer questions from the press amid ongoing scandals over sexual harassment accusations against him and his handling of nursing home deaths in the pandemic.

Instead, Cuomo has increasingly turned to making appearances with friendly audiences, such as in communities of color where his support is strong.

Cuomo said New York City's vaccination effort is still leaving too many people of color behind. The city's population is 27 percent Black, yet only 19 percent of that group is vaccinated, he said.

The city's population is 53 percent white, and 55 percent of them have been vaccinated, he said.

"We need to do vaccine equity," he said.

The state has long used hospitals and other medical facilities to distribute the vaccine.