De Blasio Outlines NYC Coronavirus Vaccine Plans

NEW YORK CITY — A massive vaccination effort against the coronavirus in New York City will be ready to start as soon as November, officials said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday outlined a two-phase plan to distribute the anticipated, but still in development, coronavirus vaccine it to New Yorkers whenever it becomes widely available.

“It's going to be a huge, huge effort, but we can make it work,” he said.

De Blasio’s announcement followed Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s unveiling this week of a draft for a vaccine administration program.

Cuomo often chafes at de Blasio’s proclamations — which the governor sees as foolhardy usurpations of state power — but Hizzoner repeatedly claimed the city’s plan will merely put the state framework into practice.

The city plan’s first phase will focus on those “who need the vaccine the most” — frontline and health care workers, essential workers and the vulnerable — de Blasio said.

“The second phase is the general public and making the vaccine available widely,” he said.

Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi said the city is preparing for the Herculean efforts of vaccinating millions of New Yorkers in a matter of months. He drew a picture of health care workers going door-to-door in apartment buildings and clinics partnering with the city to handle long lines of people waiting for shots.

It wasn’t just a hopeful prediction for the coming months — it was a scene from 1947, when the city conducted a massive vaccination campaign against smallpox, Chokshi said.

The city will draw on its history and reach out into communities through trusted doctors and medical providers, he said.

“Trust is an essential ingredient to turn a vaccine into a vaccination,” he said.

More than 2,500 providers are currently reporting to the Citywide Immunization Registry, and officials are actively enrolling more, a release states.

Phase one will be ready to begin as soon as November, assuming a vaccine is ready, officials said. The second phase of distribution to the general public can begin early 2021.