New York Will Run Out Of Coronavirus Vaccine Today, Cuomo Says

NEW YORK CITY — New York is on pace to tap its supply of the COVID-19 vaccine Friday – if the vials aren't already empty, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday.

"We run out of allocation today," he said.

Cuomo's announcement followed days of warnings from himself and Mayor Bill de Blasio over the state's and city's dwindling vaccine supply.

As Cuomo spoke, he said the state had 28,000 doses remaining. But he said given the 80,0oo-dose-a-day pace that it's likely the state's is already tapped.

The state is slated to receive 250,400 doses next week, about 43 percent of which head to New York City, Cuomo said.

He pressed President Joe Biden to follow through on his promise to amp up vaccine production to meet a goal of 100 million vaccinations in 100 days.

That's 1 million doses a week, Cuomo said.

"All this to say, this is going to be a long several months in the distribution of this vaccine and anxiety that has been created,” he said.

The dwindling supply of COVID-19 in New York City prompted the cancellations of 23,000 first doses. De Blasio and other city officials have said appointments for the second dose for the two-shot vaccine won't be cancelled.

Cuomo again urged vaccine providers to only schedule as many appointments as their allocation allows. He also stressed that certain sites receive vaccines for specific eligible groups — such as hospitals for health care workers — and must follow the priorities.

Failure to do so would unevenly and unfairly take vaccines away from people, he said.

"Please follow the Department of Health prioritization, otherwise you’re robbing Peter to pay Paul,” he said.