New York lags Florida in its efforts to administer the coronavirus vaccine, federal data shows, despite the bragging of Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio over the Empire State’s best plan.
The Sunshine State has so far administered 823 vaccines per 100,000 residents, according to the online tracker from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New York has administered vaccines to 723 per 100,000 residents, a rate about 14 percent slower than Florida’s rate, the tracker shows.
Tracker data is current as of December 30 due to holiday delays.
The numbers cast doubt on De Blasio’s bold claim that 1 million New York City residents would be vaccinated in January – even though the state has administered less than a third of the available doses so far.
Asked earlier this week about a delay in the vaccine rollout at the NYPD, de Blasio acknowledged the city could move faster were it not for the state’s strict restrictions on who can receive the shot when.
“This is something we do based on state guidelines and we are in constant communication with the state about it,” he said in part at a press conference on Tuesday. “If we get the permission, we can undoubtedly act very quickly.”
One of the cases highlighting inequality is that of Nathan Burkan Jr. and Greg Heinrich.
Burkan Jr., an 89-year-old man from Manhattan who suffered from congestive heart failure and a stroke, told The Post he was unable to get the vaccine despite an increased risk of the disease.
‘Me and my wife of course [who is 83] would like to get the vaccine now, ”he said.
But his daughter-in-law’s father, Heinrich, just drove to his local library in Clermont, Florida, to get the vaccine recently – without even getting out of his car.
“I rolled down the car window and got my chance,” Heinrich, 72, told The Post of his experience doing the drive-thru recording. “I didn’t have to get out of the car.”
Although the wait was long – about three hours – he just had to relax in his car until a nurse gave him the shot, and then he was on his way.
Was it worth the wait? Absolutely! “He said.” It was painless.
Heinrich said it’s wrong for New York to slow down vaccine distribution at the expense of some of those most at risk, such as Burkan Jr.
“If seniors like me can get the vaccine in Florida, why can’t they get it in New York?” he asked. “People aged 65 and over are much more vulnerable than younger people.”