NEW YORK, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Governor Andrew Cuomo continuously tweeted on Friday to assure New Yorkers that a second shot of COVID-19 vaccine will be available although the first dose would be used up this day.
"New Yorkers who have already received their 1st dose do NOT have to worry that they will not be able to get their 2nd dose. Second dose allocation is a separate process," he said. "We always ensure there are enough 2nd doses to complete vaccination for those who got 1st shot."
"NYS will use up our 1st dose vaccine allocations today. But our next allocation is coming throughout the week. As it arrives, we'll get more shots in arms ASAP," said the governor. "Providers should ONLY schedule appts for allocations they know they'll receive. We want to avoid all cancellations."
Meanwhile, Cuomo announced that as of Friday, 97 percent of the first doses New York received from Weeks 1-5 deliveries have been administered, excluding federal Long Term Care Facility Program.
The governor also welcomed the change of administration in Washington, D.C., tweeting that "On day one, the new administration has joined the COVID fight with common sense policies we have advocated for all along: wear a mask, institute international travel procedures and increase production of needed supplies."
"It feels great to have competent leadership in Washington," he added.
Also on Friday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted that "New York City vaccinated more people than the population of Salt Lake City last week. We're burning through our supply."
"We need more doses IMMEDIATELY so we can protect the most vulnerable residents in our city. We need more doses so we can fight back," added the mayor.
As of Friday afternoon, the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University reported 41,854 coronavirus deaths in New York State, the worst in the country. Enditem
