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WPCNR GOVERNOR CUOMO CORONA VIRUS EVENING REPORT. February 9, 2021;

The White House announced a 5 percent increase in vaccine allocations to the states for the next three weeks, which is welcome news. The 5 percent increase doesn’t sound like much but it’s on top of previous increases that were announced earlier—so it adds up.

That being said, supply is still extremely limited. It is frustrating, I know, when so many New Yorkers are chasing a relatively small number of doses and appointments, but unless supply rapidly increases, I urge New Yorkers who are eligible to be patient.

It’s all about supply, supply, supply—and there still isn’t enough. With the 7-day average positivity rate at its lowest since December 1, it’s critically important we stay united and keep the momentum on our side—especially as new variants of the virus threaten to upend the progress we have made. Let’s keep it up, New York. 

Photo of the Day: A vaccine worker at a community vaccination site at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem (Photo by Don Pollard)

Here’s what else you need to know tonight: 

1. COVID hospitalizations rose to 7,875. Of the 153,648 tests reported yesterday, 7,866, or 5.12 percent, were positive. The 7-day average positivity rate is 4.38 percent, the lowest 7-day average since December 1.

There were 1,412 patients in the ICU yesterday, down 42 from the previous day. (EDITOR’S NOTE:of those 1,412 , 69% OF THOSE PATIENTS (971) are intubated.) Sadly, we lost 138 New Yorkers to the virus.

2. Long Island has the highest percentage of positive test results on a 7-day average of any region of the state, at 5.36 percent. Following Long Island, the Mid-Hudson Region is at 5.34 percent,

(EDITOR’S NOTE: WESTCHESTER COUNTY HAS THE LEADING POSITIVE RATE OF NEW CASES 5.56% FOR THE LAST 7 DAYS ( Feb 2 through Feb 8) IN THE MID-HUDSON REGION, 61,716 PERSONS WERE TESTED, 3,601 WERE FOUND POSITIVE, 5.56%.)

( New York City is at 5.13 percent, the North Country is at 4.79 percent, Western New York is at 4.16 percent, the Capital Region is at 3.40 percent, the Mohawk Valley is at 3.15 percent, the Finger Lakes is at 2.91 percent, Central New York is at 1.87 percent and the Southern Tier is at 1.22 percent.

3.  Eleven community-based pop-up vaccination sites are coming online this week to provide first doses to more than 3,100 New Yorkers.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: THREE OF THOSE POP-UP VACCINATION SITES ARE IN MOUNT VERNON, PEEKSKILL IN YONKERS, TO COMBAT THE THREE HIGHEST DAILY INFECTION RATES IN THE DENSEST AREAS OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY. YONKERS AVERAGES AS OF LAST FRIDAY AVERAGED 1,182 NEW INFECTIONS A WEEK; MOUNT VERNON, 365 NEW CASES A WEEK AND PEEKSKILL, 134 A WEEK,)  

Community vaccination kits will be deployed to NYCHA senior housing developments, public housing sites and community centers. Vaccination will be by appointment only and scheduling will be conducted directly through the host site or partner provider, who will work with community leaders and organizers to identify eligible New Yorkers in each specific community. The community pop-up vaccination program is part of our effort to ensure equity and remove barriers to access in underserved communities.