:FILE PHOTO: People wearing protective masks are seen in Washington Square park during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 25, 2021. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo
New York will expand eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine to people 30 and older on Tuesday, and make it available to anyone 16 and above on April 6, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday.
New York, which just last week lowered the eligibility age for vaccines to 50, was one of a handful of states not to have set a concrete date for universal eligibility since President Joe Biden called for reaching that goal by May 1.
The move comes amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in New York and neighboring New Jersey, which now rank No. 1 and 2 in new infections per capita among all 50 states.
"Today we take a monumental step forward in the fight to beat COVID," Cuomo said in a statement. "We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but until we get there it is more important than ever for each and every New Yorker to wear a mask, socially distance and follow all safety guidelines."
The state, the country's fourth most populous, has to date administered more than 9 million total vaccine doses, with 30% of its population receiving at least one dose, Cuomo said in the statement.
