New Milestone: 85% Of New Yorkers Have Had 1 Vaccine Dose

LONG ISLAND, NY — New Yorkers reached a new milestone Friday in the battle against COVID-19 — 85 percent of adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

In a COVID-19 update, Hochul said New York's coronavirus positivity rate, over a seven-day average, was 3.13 percent, with a 2.47 percent rate reported over the past 24 hours. A total of 2,175 New Yorkers were hospitalized, with 474 in ICU, and 263 intubated. Over the past 24 hours, 42 people died, Hochul said.

On Long Island, the positivity rate stood at 2.72 percent, compared to 2.74 percent on Tuesday.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while 85 percent of New Yorkers have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine, 76.2 percent have completed the two-dose vaccination series.

"As we reach this milestone of 85 percent of New Yorkers with at least one dose, we are one step closer to finally putting an end to this pandemic and getting our lives back to normal," Hochul said. "While this is a momentous achievement, we still have communities lagging behind in vaccinations. The most important thing is getting vaccinated if you're in a high-risk setting or immunocompromised. I urge all New Yorkers to get vaccinated to keep yourselves and those around you safe."

To that end, with the delta variant still a concern, new vaccination mandates have been unveiled, Gov. Kathy Hochul said this week.

As of Thursday, all adult care facility staff were to be vaccinated.

And, as of Nov. 1, workers at Office of Mental Health and Office for People with Developmental Disabilities inpatient hospitals must be vaccinated with weekly testing beginning Oct. 12 for the unvaccinated.

"Our focus remains keeping kids in schools, returning people to work, and reopening New York safely," Hochul said. "We all know the best way to ensure our continued progress is to get more shots in arms."

Also, it has now been determined that pregnant women who get COVID-19 are at a higher risk of severe illness and preterm birth, Hochul said. Women who are pregnant or who want to get pregnant should get a vaccine, she said.

The thought of last year's fall and winter surge, due to gatherings, is "what keeps me up at night," Hochul said. Unvaccinated individuals face a 10 times greater risk of serious illness, she said. She urged those who are currently eligible to get booster shots and said she was advocating for approvals for both Moderna and Johnson & Johnson boosters.

On Thursday, Pfizer-BioNTech asked the U.S. Food And Drug Administration to green light the use of its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine in children between the ages of 5 to 11.

The request follows single-dose COVID vaccine maker Johnson & Johnson asking the FDA to allow booster shots of its COVID-19 vaccine for those ages 18 and older. The federal government has already authorized a single booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for those who received their second dose six months ago.

To pediatricians, Hochul said, "Get ready." She asked pediatricians to enroll so when the green light is given to vaccinate children, there is no delay.

Should the numbers continue to go up, additional mandates and stricter measures could be coming, she said.

"We know vaccinations and mandates work," Hochul said. "It's not my favorite thing to do —but sometimes it's necessary."