Naomi Hassebroek will receive her second COVID-19 vaccine at NYC Health + Hospitals in Gotham Health Sydenham in the Manhattan borough of New York on March 29, 2021.
Caitlin Ox | Reuters
The Covid-19 vaccination rate in New York has dropped dramatically in the past few days, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday as he urged residents to get vaccinated against the disease that killed more than 590,000 people in America.
The state administered only 63,000 vaccines in the past 24 hours, with an average of around 133,000 vaccinations administered over an average of seven days over the past week on May 24, according to the state.
The current seven-day average is a small increase from last week’s average, but a sharp decrease from the state’s high when a seven-day average of about 266,000 vaccinations was reported on April 4.
Cuomo urged New Yorkers to take vaccines seriously, saying the coronavirus pandemic was still a cause for caution.
“It’s not over yet, it’s done, but it’s not over yet,” said Cuomo at a press conference. “The number of vaccinations is falling dramatically, we’re now doing less than 100,000 a day – that’s a dramatic decrease, 55% fewer vaccines.”
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the US reports an average of 1.8 million vaccinations per day over the past week. Approximately 49% of the US population had at least one shot and 39% were fully vaccinated.
The nationwide seven-day average for reported vaccines administered is currently 1.7 million, compared with a high of 3.4 million reported on April 7 for the seven-day immunization.
With the vaccination rate slowing, officials like Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio are offering various perks to help convince reluctant people to get their vaccination shots. They previously offered free Yankees tickets, Vax & Scratch lottery tickets, free subway and train rides, tickets to popular attractions like zoos and gardens, and more.
State parks are now offering free tickets to anyone who receives the vaccine at a state park vaccination site this week with access to one of New York’s 16 state parks. This campaign was called “Shot in the Park” by Cuomo.
Cuomo said he is targeting the “youth and the doubters” with the latest round of incentives.
“Enjoy the park, get a vaccine, we will set up a vaccination center in each of the 16 state parks,” he said.
Maryland, Ohio, and Oregon have set up vaccination lotteries to increase declining vaccination rates.
In Ohio, where vaccination rates fell, the number of people ages 16 and older who received the shots rose 28% over the weekend after the state announced its vaccination lottery program. Ohio also announced that it will be offering five full college scholarships to randomly selected vaccinated students.
New Jersey is offering free beer at several local breweries to anyone who gets their Covid shot in May as part of Governor Phil Murphy’s “Shot and Beer” campaign.
Private companies in the US have also offered incentives to vaccinated customers, such as gift cards, free snacks, marijuana, beer, and even free tickets to Six Flags in Illinois.
– CNBC’s Nate Rattner contributed to this report.
