Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s vaccine supercharge!
New York will soon receive more than 1.6 million doses of coronavirus vaccine every week thanks to a manufacturing “supercharge” bankrolled by President Biden’s recently-enacted pandemic relief bill, Sen. Chuck Schumer announced Friday.
Speaking outside the Upper West Side’s Ryan Health Center, which has been revamped into a federal vaccination site, the New York Democrat said the new weekly allocations are expected to kick in by the end of April, amounting to a 33% bump compared to current levels.
In addition to beefed-up deliveries, Schumer, the Senate majority leader, said $500 million set aside for vaccination efforts in New York will fund the construction of another 200 vaccination sites across the state and the hiring of another 5,000 vaccination workers.
“There are going to be many more vaccines, many more sites, many more workers to administer the vaccine as a result of the legislation we passed, and the implementation by President Biden,” said Schumer, who appeared outside the Manhattan vaccination center with Jeff Zients, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force.
“New York’s COVID vaccine supercharge is now underway, and it’s going to make it easier and quicker for many more people to get the vaccine.”
Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan — which passed Congress without any Republican support — includes cash for a range of relief, from unemployment benefits and stimulus checks to small business aid and food programs.
But the billions of dollars earmarked for producing more vaccines and delivering them faster have routinely been touted by Biden as the most important part of the legislation in terms of fighting the pandemic.
Schumer echoed that sentiment on Friday.