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New York State Vaccine Updates: Age 50+, HERDS

March 23, 2021

GNYHA is detailing recent State COVID-19 vaccine reporting and distribution policy updates.

New York State Guidance for Individuals Age 50+

The New York State Department of Health (DOH) has updated its guidance (attached) to highlight that starting today, March 23, New Yorkers 50 years of age and older are eligible to receive the vaccine.

Vaccine providers other than pharmacies are permitted to vaccinate any eligible individual (full list here). Pharmacies are permitted to administer COVID-19 vaccine to anyone over the age of 50 and can continue to vaccinate teachers, school staff, childcare workers, and individuals with eligible comorbidities or underlying conditions.

HERDS Updates

DOH has also updated the vaccination section of the Health Emergency Response Data System’s (HERDS) daily hospital survey to address the recent change in eligibility guidance and to distinguish between hospital staff and non-hospital staff who received a single-dose vaccine (e.g., Johnson & Johnson) versus a two-dose vaccine (e.g., Pfizer, Moderna). The changes go into effect on Wednesday, March 24.

DOH revised four existing questions and added two new questions in the vaccination section of the HERDS daily hospital survey. All revised questions relate to information on first doses of vaccine (e.g., hospital employees who have received a first dose, first doses administered by your hospital or hospital staff to non-hospital staff) but have been modified to reflect the updated age eligibility (i.e., 50 years or older) or to differentiate between a single-dose and two-dose vaccine. DOH’s two new questions request information on topics such as the number of hospital staff who have received a single-dose vaccine and the number of single-dose vaccines administered by your hospital or hospital staff to non-hospital staff for COVID-19.

If you have any questions on the HERDS daily hospital survey, please contact Scott Gaffney.

For a compilation of recent guidance, please visit GNYHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination Guidance webpage. Please contact Zeynep Sumer King with any questions about vaccine distribution.

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