Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced five state-run vaccination sites have begun accepting appointments and are scheduled to open this week. The sites - the Jacob K. Javits Center, Westchester County Center and New York State Fair Expo Center - will all open on January 13 at 8 a.m. Sites at Jones Beach and SUNY Albany will also open on January 14 and 15, respectively, with more vaccination sites to be announced in the coming days.

Since federal supply severely limits the ability to distribute vaccine, New Yorkers are encouraged to remain patient and are advised not to show up at vaccination sites without an appointment. New York's vast distribution network and large population of eligible individuals far exceed the vaccine supply coming from the federal government, which is arriving at a rate of approximately 300,000 doses per week. As such, eligible New Yorkers should be prepared to receive an appointment date as far as 14 weeks or further in the future.

"New York State is rapidly expanding our networks and capabilities to get as many New Yorkers vaccinated as fast as our supply allows," Governor Cuomo said. "The new vaccine sites across the State will expedite our distribution to get our most vulnerable New Yorkers vaccinated efficiently. Our greatest hindrance continues to be federal inaction. We have come too far to be held back in our efforts by the inadequate vaccine supply from the federal government. I encourage New Yorkers to be patient throughout this process and urge our federal government to increase the supply to states."

To further accelerate the vaccination rate of priority health care workers, and begin the vaccination of newly eligible New Yorkers. New York has established a network of distribution sites that will supplement the work being done in hospitals to prevent any one hospital from becoming overburdened. This network includes the five state-run sites opening this week, as well as 15 more which will be announced in the coming days. This new network will also utilize doctors' offices, Federally-Qualified Health Centers, county health departments, ambulatory centers and pharmacies to get doses in the arms of eligible New Yorkers. More than 1,200 pharmacies have already committed to participating in this network, with nearly 400 scheduled to come on-line this week. Pharmacies will be provided vaccines for New Yorkers aged 65 and older, while hospitals will continue vaccinating 1a healthcare workers, and local health departments and union-organized efforts will serve essential workers in 1b.