All New Yorkers will be eligible for the COVID vaccine on April 6th

In a press release today, Governor Cuomo announced that New Yorkers ages 30+ will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday, March 30th, and those ages 16+ on April 6th. This means New York will make eligibility universal nearly a month earlier than President Biden’s May 1 deadline.

Just last week, those ages 50+ became eligible in New York, but there has been a growing call to open eligibility to all, especially as more and more people have started skirting the rules despite technically not qualifying. As of yesterday, 46 states and D.C. had announced plans to open up full eligibility no later than May 1st, according to a map shared by President Biden on Instagram. Of these, 14 are already open or are opening this week, and an additional 12 by April 15. This did not include New York.

Of course, the expanded eligibility does not guarantee one an appointment, as the scheduling process still remains frustratingly overwhelmed. You can see if you’re eligible and make an appointment here. You can also call the state’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-833-NYS-4-VAX. And for the city’s vaccine appointment finder website, click here. There are also a couple of non-official vaccine tracking websites that show real-time appointment availability for New York City–NYC Vaccine List and Turbo Vax. Another site, Dr. B, allows you to sign up on a formal standby list to be notified when local providers find themselves with extra doses.

Today, 30 percent of New Yorkers have received at least one vaccine dose, with 17 percent fully vaccinated. This amounts to more than 9 million total doses administered since the first shot was delivered on December 14th.

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