New York has about two to three days of vaccines in supply before needing another shipment of doses as more vaccination sites themselves are opening up, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday said.
New York has now administered more than 1.1 million doses, with 86% of those doses being the first of two shots. The pace of vaccine doses has increased steadily in recent days, Cuomo said, for an average of about 65,000 doses a day.
Vaccine distribution in New York and in many parts of the country has lagged behind initial goals while the number of people eligible for the vaccine -- health care workers, essential government workers, first responders and people over age 65 and those with immune compromised systems -- has also expanded.
There are now more than 7 million people in New York eligible to schedule a vaccination.
The problem now, however, is a dwindling supply of vaccines in hand before more is shipped to New York via the federal government.
"You will see a constant pattern of running out, waiting for the next week's allocation and then running out again," Cuomo said.
The state has designated 1,200 sites for mass distribution.
"We have more of a distribution network than we have product, so to speak," Cuomo said.
Shots should not be scheduled until there is a better understanding of supply for the next week, he added.
Still, more vaccines are expected to come into the distribution pipeline as Pfizer ramps up production and vaccines from other pharmaceutical companies are approved.
"I also believe you're going to see more production," Cuomo said.
New York will receive an additional 250,000 doses of the vaccine next week, a reduction from the 300,000 doses a week that was initially received this week.
Cuomo last week announced he was asking Pfizer to directly sell doses to New York; his request was turned down by the company.