Vaccinations, boosting economy top Cuomo 2021 agenda
Gov. Andrew Cuomo pledged New York will vaccinate millions and jumpstart its flagging economy in 2021 as part of his annual address to the state that began Monday.
The governor’s address — which will continue throughout the week — comes as the state tries to balance reopening its economy with ending a pandemic whose death toll is now nearing 40,000 people, according to data collected by the John Hopkins University School of Medicine. New York’s hospitals and nursing homes have recorded nearly 4,100 new deaths of people with COVID-19 over the past 30 days, and the state is now seeing more new COVID-19 cases per-capita than 35 other states.
Hospitals statewide have added thousands of additional emergency beds and are now caring for about 8,500 patients — less than half the mid-April peak of 18,000. But Cuomo warned continued spread — potentially exacerbated by a highly contagious COVID-19 variant widespread in the United Kingdom — could devastate hospitals around the state.