Apr 23, 2021
- Throughout COVID, essential workers put their own safety on the line to ensure the rest of us could weather this pandemic and we owe them an enormous debt of gratitude for their tremendous service. Today, in partnership with SOMOS Community Care and Urban Health Plan, we announced five new pop-up vaccination sites that will take walk-in appointments for New York City bodega, grocery store and supermarket workers. Eligible New Yorkers can make appointments for the SOMOS sites here and for the Urban Health Plan site by calling 718-589-4755. These new pop-up vaccination sites are so important—they will make it easier for bodega, grocery store and supermarket workers, who have worked every single day to provide an essential service, to get vaccinated and protect themselves, their families and communities from COVID-19.
Photo of the Day: Today Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union President Appelbaum received the COVID-19 vaccine
(Photo by Don Pollard)
Here's what else you need to know tonight:
1. COVID hospitalizations dropped to 3,387, the lowest since November 28. Of the 240,930 tests reported yesterday, 4,901, or 2.03 percent, were positive. That is the lowest single-day positivity rate since November 5. The 7-day average positivity rate was 2.45 percent. There were 786 patients in ICU yesterday, down 25 from the previous day. Of them, 483 are intubated. Sadly, we lost 45 New Yorkers to the virus.
2. As of 11am this morning, 43.4 percent of New Yorkers have completed at least one vaccine dose. Over the past 24 hours, 184,119 total doses have been administered. To date, New York has administered 14,124,641 total doses with 30.2 percent of New Yorkers completing their vaccine series. See data by region and county on the State's Vaccine Tracker: ny.gov/vaccinetracker.
3. Six additional New York companies will produce COVID-19 supplies to help combat the virus. These companies have received nearly $2.3 million in funding from New York State to produce needed supplies to help continue our fight in the pandemic. These grant funds will help alleviate product shortages due to supply chain issues that could lead to unfair pricing practices and delays. These companies will also increase the State's manufacturing capacity while creating new jobs and market opportunities.
4. In the third round of the program, Nourish NY has so far spent $8 million to help New Yorkers in need. So far, over six million pounds of raw milk has been turned into dairy products and distributed by food banks, along with over 1.9 pounds of produce. Over five million households in need have received products sourced from New York farms.
Tonight's "Deep Breath Moment": A pair of peregrine falcons are calling the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge home. This species of bird is listed as an endangered species by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, so it delighted environmentalists to see the two falcons establishing a nest in the bridge's nest box. This box, installed hundreds of feet above the water, provides a vantage point for the birds to dive for prey and wait for their five fledglings to hatch. You can check up on the peregrine falcons and their eggs via the bridge's Falcon Camera.
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