Cuomo announced that people ages 60 and older will now be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, starting on Wednesday.

Governor Andrew Cuomo visited the New York state-run COVID vaccination site at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse today.

He says 9,500 vaccinations have been done at the fairgrounds in the past 24 hours, the second highest single day performance of any vaccination site in the nation.

The previous eligibility age was 65 and up.

He says appointments will open across the state tomorrow morning at 8:00.

You can make an appointment at New York's "Am I Eligible" website or by calling the state's COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline at 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829).

The governor also says all public-facing public employees and essential public workers will become eligible to receive the vaccine starting on March 17th.

The following essential workers will be eligible:

  • Public-facing government and public employees
  • Not-for-profit workers who provide public-facing services to New Yorkers in need
  • Essential in-person public-facing building service workers

"New York is marching forward expanding access to the COVID-19 vaccine, addressing underserved communities and getting shots in arms as we turn the tide in the fight against this virus,"  Cuomo said. "Supply is steadily increasing and we're opening new vaccination sites and expanding eligibility to match it. New Yorkers over 60 years old and those who serve their fellow New Yorkers in the public sector are more vulnerable to COVID-19, and we're addressing that vulnerability by providing access to the vaccine."

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

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