Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Announces All New York State Mass Vaccination Sites Will Be Open to Walk-In Appointments For All Eligible Adults Beginning April 29

Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that beginning Thursday, April 29, all New York State mass vaccination sites will be open to eligible New Yorkers for walk-in vaccination on a first come first serve basis for all. The walk-in appointments are reserved for first doses only with second doses to be scheduled automatically after administration of the initial shot. Additionally, all vaccine providers are encouraged to likewise allow walk-in appointments and for eligible New Yorkers.

The Governor also announced the mass vaccination site located at 10 Gannett Drive in Johnson City will move inside the building at the same address. The move will allow for increased capacity and will be less impacted by any adverse weather conditions.

VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.

AUDIO of today's remarks is available here.

PHOTOS will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Let me acknowledge my colleagues who are here today and you're going to hear after I make some remarks from Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo. Donna as you know is a phenomenal representative for her district, but more than that, I watch her in Albany.

She is a widely respected voice in the State Assembly. She's a great state leader. We just finished a, what I think is probably the strongest budget in the State of New York that we've ever done. It deals with COVID and all the damage from COVID but it also invests in New York and opens up a whole new chapter in New York. It also passes a tax cut for the middle class, which was well needed, so let's give Donna Lupardo, Assembly Member, a big round of applause.

We have County executive Jason Garnar who's just been an outstanding partner for the State all through COVID and I want to thank him very much. County Executive Jason Garnar.

Same thing for Mayor Richard David. Rich, as Mayor, has been extraordinary and his response. The Southern Tier has had one of the lowest COVID rates in the state for some time. So let's congratulate them and all the people of the Southern Tier.

We have our great President of Binghamton University, Harvey Stenger, pleasure to be with you, Mr. President, thank you very much.

And we have the students from Decker Nursing School. They have been helping with testing. They're going to be helping with vaccinations and we have members of the National Guard who have just been extraordinary. Let's give them a round of applause.

Let me start by giving you an update on COVID today if I can. Positivity rate was 2.6 percent, today, statewide, that's good news. 3,184. New Yorkers were hospitalized. That is down 689 from last week. So that's good news. 728 New Yorkers in intensive care. 461 intubated. Positivity by region, and this is really extraordinary when you see the differential by region, and I want people to take note of this. Western New York has the highest in the state at 3.4 percent. Finger Lakes, 2.7. Mid-Hudson, 2.3. Long Island, 2.1. New York City, 2.1. Capitol Region, 1.6. Mohawk Valley, 1.4. North Country, 1.3. Central New York, 1.2. Southern Tier, 0.7.

Statewide seven-day average, 2.06. Statewide seven-day positivity average is the lowest since November 7, which is before Thanksgiving, before the holidays. So that's very good news, and the Southern Tier seven-day average positivity has been below 1 percent since February 11, so that's a great job. Thank you for getting the word out.

The CDC, we have a call once a week where the governors speak with the White House. The CDC announced today new guidance saying for Americans who are fully vaccinated, when you are outside, biking, hiking, running, or in small gatherings, you don't need to wear a mask if you are fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinating means one shot of the Johnson & Johnson, two shots of Pfizer or Moderner, but they are saying you don't need to wear a mask. So that is liberating, especially now that the weather is getting warmer. New York has adopted that guidance so that's going to go into effect in New York State also and we want to thank CDC for that.

So that is all good news on COVID but I don't want, New Yorkers to get the wrong idea. It's not that all the news is good. 26 people died yesterday from COVID. Sothere's a nuance to the message.

We're making progress, people are getting vaccinated, positivity is coming down, but COVID is still dangerous - 26 people died, and people will die today from COVID. So remember this is still a serious threat, and COVID has been ahead of us since day one. They now talk about quote unquote variants of interest. In India they have a terrible problem with COVID and apparently there are some mutations in India that are problematic and we've seen too many times where a mutation of the virus in the UK or in another country winds up coming to the United States very quickly. So the news is good, but still 'caution' is the word of the day.

I also want to applaud the mass vaccination site that has been operating here and the nurses and the doctors and the National Guard and the government officials who have been operating that. 114,000 vaccinations done right here. Over 50,000 people vaccinated.

The vaccination site is going to be moving indoors now into the Binghamton University Foundation building, so it will be a better location for the mass vaccination site and I want to thank Binghamton University for that. I also want to congratulate Binghamton University on the School of Pharmacy and their first class that is graduating. That is exciting. Let's give them a round of applause.

Also, Binghamton University is starting the school of nursing, which is very, very exciting. We have a vision for Binghamton University that we have been enacting and times are approving us correct. Health sciences is going to be a growth field. Why the school of nursing? Why the school of pharmacy? Why the concentration on the health sciences? Because that's the future. And by the way, that was the future before COVID. COVID just brought this home, and COVID was not out of the blue. Remember that also. We have gone through Ebola. We've gone through Dengue. We've gone through Zika. We've gone through a number of these pandemics. COVID the worst, but that is going to be the way of the future, and health sciences is the growth field.

So Binghamton University growing as a great academic university, yes, but also as a great economic engine for the Southern Tier, so congratulations to them again.

With COVID we are a little bit of a point of transition. We have been doing great on the vaccinations. We have distribution sites all across the state, pop-up sites, equity sites, bringing the vaccine to hard hit communities, mass vaccination sites which are clearly the most effective from a throughput point of view, getting the largest number of people done in the shortest period of time.

But we're seeing a reduction in the number of people coming in for vaccines. We were doing about 175,000 vaccines statewide every 24 hours. That number is down to now about 115,000 vaccines every 24 hours. Well, maybe our distribution declined. It didn't. The demand is reducing. Fewer people are asking for appointments. Remember when we started, people were chasing appointments. You had to be an expert on the internet to figure out how to get an appointment. We'renow at a different place where we have open appointments at mass vaccination sites and vaccination sites almost all across the state.

So first step is we're going to open up all state mass vaccination sites this Thursday to just walk in vaccinations. You don't have to call. You don't have to make an appointment. All New Yorkers 16- plus, just come in to a mass vaccination site on Thursday, and you are eligible for a vaccine.

So for the people who felt, "Well, I'm not comfortable going on the Internet, I don't want to call, I don't want to talk to a lot of people," all the obstacles are removed, all the barriers are removed. Just show up and roll up your sleeve, and the mass vaccination sites have capacity to handle it. We're also allowing all local health departments that operate local sites, county sites, as of Thursday, in their option, they can go to total walk-in where nobody would need an appointment. This is our way of saying if you were intimidated by the process of trying to make an appointment, that's gone - no appointment needed, come in and get a vaccine.

But, we're also going to get to a point, which we're not at yet, but we will get to a point where you're going to see a certain of number of New Yorkers who are hesitant about getting a vaccine. We've done about 45 percent of our population has about, has one shot at least. So 45 percent of the population has come forward. There will be a percent of the population that says, "I don't want to get a vaccine." They call it vaccine hesitancy. I don't know that hesitancy is the right word, but you have a percent of the population that says, "I'm not ready to get a vaccine." And I talk about this all the time to people, it falls into a number of categories.

One, I call the superhero category. Superhero, predominantly young people. "I'm not afraid of the vaccine. I'm in good shape. I'm young, I'm healthy. It's not going to bother me. I don't need the vaccine. A lot of my friends have had the virus and they're fine. I'm young. I don't need it. I'm a superhero." They don't say superhero - I translate that as the superhero theory. Okay, even if you are a superhero, you can get and give it to someone and that person can die. Okay?

Then you have the scientist school of thought. "Well, I'm not sure that the vaccine works." Okay, you're a scientist. Virtually every major medical authority in the United States of America vouches for the vaccine - short, tall, Democrat, Republican, male, female. Almost every major medical professional, and not just in the United States, worldwide are taking the vaccine.

Then there's the skeptic. New York has a number of skeptics. "Well, I don't trust the government. I don't trust anyone." Alright. This is not the government. This is not me as Governor. It's not the President. By the way, both parties now say you should get the vaccine. So it's not a political issue. But all the science, all the data, we're not asking you to go first. Fourteen million people in New York State have taken a shot, that is a body of proof. We have to get vaccinated.

And the last point is this - people will say, "Well, I don't want to get the vaccine for myself and it's my decision." That is true. It is your decision. Nobody can tell you, you have to get the vaccine. It's your body. It's your right. But I would ask you to think about this. You are not alone in this life. You are not alone in this world. You are not alone in the Southern Tier. You are not alone in your home. You are not alone in society.

Yes, we are all individuals, and I have my individual right. But we're all part of a community. We're all part of a society and your actions affect me and my actions affect you. So when you think about you and what you want to do for you, remember sometimes it's not just about me, but it's about we and what is in our joint collective best interest. Do I really have the right to get you sick? Do you really have the right to get me sick? And this is one of those instances in life that really shows you how we're all interconnected. And for all our individual rights, you're still part of a community. And I believe that we have a citizen's duty, we have a civic duty, to do the right thing, one to another.

If it was just you and you were living on an island all by yourself, that would be one thing. But not when you were living in a society where you go to school, you go into a store, you're going to a church, you walk down the block, you shake hands with people. It is a virus, it is a situation we can only defeat when we agree we're going to defeat it together. Think about that. Sometimes it's not just about you, it's about us. And this is one of those situations. The more people vaccinated, the faster we defeat this disease once and for all, that is a fact. More people vaccinated, the sooner we get back to life as normal and the more lives we save.

Also the nursing students who are here today, the pharmacy students, the doctors, the people working in the mass vaccination site - you get infected, you wind up putting other people's lives in danger, the people who have to treat you, the ambulance driver who has to pick you up, the nurse who has to attend to you. So, I know it's your decision, it's my decision, but it's also about us and it's a moment of we.

My father, God rest his soul, used to talk about the family of New York. We're an extended family and we have a virus in the family. So let's all act responsibly. I know we will.

With that, let me ask Assemblywoman, Donna Lupardo to come say a few words. You'll then hear from County Executive Jason Garnar. But to all my colleagues, thank you all very much. To the nursing students and National Guard, let's give them another round of applause. And welcome Donna Lupardo.

Donna Lupardo: Thank you very much, Governor, and we really appreciate you being here to provide us with an update. A lot of good news there in terms of New York's response, but also what's going on here in the Southern Tier. We could have not achieved the success without the teamwork coming from the state, the locals, the Mayor, the County executive, Harvey Stenger at the University, the media helping us get the word out, all the community partners, the National Guard, everyone who participated, a sincere thank you. Thank you for helping us get our arms around this and thank you for helping our community feel safer.

It feels like we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're coming through what has surely been a very difficult time for our community. I admit when I came to this site for my vaccination, I was afraid. I was a little scared, to be honest, but it was the best thing that I ever did. Just two weeks ago, I got to see members of my family for the first time since Christmas of 2019. I took the vaccine not only to keep my family safe, but to keep your family safe as well. And I think the more we realize how important that vaccination is for the greater good, for the greater community, I think more people will be willing to overcome whatever hesitancy they may have to get it done.

You know, New York has really distinguished itself in the approach, as you well know. I mean, from creating, the clinical advisory task force to give everyone a better comfort level with the vaccine, the equity task force to make sure it got into the right hands and that we were getting it out there to people equitably. And this mass vaccination site, people have had all good things to say. I have friends who came through this and could not stop talking about how efficient it was run, how professional, how kind, how considerate from start to finish. And so congratulations, Governor, for setting up these sites across the state. People have really been well-served by that.

And now I hope people take advantage of this walk-in opportunity. If they are reluctant or they're intimidated by the sign-on process or, you know, getting involved on online, walk in and you'll be able to get first-class experience in terms of getting that vaccine.

And to underscore that, I just want to say, you mentioned the budget was a good budget. We were very grateful for the federal government to give us a cushion so we could make significant investments, not only in infrastructure, but in our workforce as well as for our small businesses, our landlords are people with mortgages. Lots ofgood, good things in this budget, but before this pandemic occurred and throughout historic investments have come our way. To the health sciences campus and I must add the culinary school from SUNY Broome that restored that beautiful Carnegie library, infrastructure improvements, and other terrific investments to help get our economy going. As we build back better, we're going to have to rely on this. And as the chair of the committee on agriculture and food, we have a brand-new appreciation in our community for the value of food produced locally and for the people who grow it and get it to our families' tables. I know the county executive is going to have a lot more to say about some of the specific investments that we'vebeen happy to receive and we will continue to enjoy as our economy recovers. So again, thanks, Governor and county executive.

County Executive Garnar: Governor Cuomo, I just want to thank you. You talked about partnerships. You've been an amazing partner with Broome County and with the Southern tier over the years, it was just really great to have your partnership. Speaking of partners. I wanted to certainly thank Harvey Sanger, president of Binghamton University, Sheila Doyle, executive director of the Binghamton University Foundation for hosting us at this great site.

You know, Broome County has been through a really tough times, just like the rest of the state has. When we started to see this site first get built out -the trucks coming here, the national guard here, the health care workers come here - it was like there was hope once again. Because the governor announced that this site here in Broome County was going to be the site of the Southern Tier mass vaccination site. Everybody said, this is what we've been waiting for.

We've been waiting for these vaccines. We want to get back to normal. We're tired of this. And it was just hope. And I just want to thank you personally. Over 100,000 vaccines given out here it's a 100,000 people that have some hope that we can get back to normal. I want to thank the National Guard here, certainly all of our healthcare employees. This is really a team effort here, teaming up in New York State. And you know whether it's with COVID or whether it's with economic development projects, that's what gets things done. That's what gets the results is that partnership that we have with Governor Cuomo in New York state.

You talk about investments in our region and these continue. COVID does not stop the progress from going on here in the Southern Tier in Broome County: $60 million to reconfigure and improve traffic on Prospect Mountain, $152 million to support construction of a new Dick's Sporting Goods Northeast Distribution Hub and e-Commerce Fulfillment Center, over 450 jobs right here in Broome County, $85 million to upgrade the Cornell High-Energy Synchrotron Source, which has created at least 100 new high-paying high-technology jobs, while retaining over 150 jobs at our facility. The nursing facility -the nursing building that's going up -that program, that's going to provide nurses to, you know, this area and, and beyond. From our economic development efforts accelerating our Southern Tier Soaring initiative and complimentary efforts through the Greater Binghamton Fund, that was a $20 million shot in the arm to places like Binghamton, Johnson City, and Endicott, to the once-in-a-lifetime COVID crisis that we have faced in the last year. We are thankful for our partner in Governor Cuomo. We really are. Broome County has suffered so greatly over the last year, as so many communities have, and we are finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel here. And getting vaccinated is the only way we'll win the war against COVID. I keep saying that to people all the time, every shot in the arm gets us one step closer to getting normal. I got my second shot yesterday. I'm out here in the blazing sun. I'm OK, alright? I'm OK. And everybody's going to be OK too. Andeverybody needs to get that shot.

Today's announcements that walk-in appointments will be available at all mass vaccination sites like the one here in Johnson city we'll really help getting a vaccine become so simple. You don't even have to make an appointment. You don't have to go online, just get your butts here and get the shot in the arm and we'll get back to normal. So I am encouraging you, the people of Broome County, if they haven't already, go right here and get vaccinated and let's, let's get back to normal. It's a banner day for the people of Broome County, as we get another step closer to being this virus. And again, thank you, Governor, for all of your support for Broome County and the Southern Tier of the state.

Governor Cuomo: We're also going to start a state advertising campaign. The federal government has an advertising campaign. That's going on. States also run separate advertising campaigns. But we want to make this point about yes, it's your decision, but you are part of a community and what one person does affects everyone else. And I'd like to show you an ad now that's going to start running immediately in this state that we think makes that point.

Ad Script: Hey, you know how we are going to fully beat COVID? Yeah. By gettingvaccinated. That's right. And in New York state, now everyone can. Yeah, now anyone 16 or older can get an appointment, right? And the vaccines are safe and effective. And free. And now we can get back to doing the things we love. With the people we love, am I right? Right. You got to protect yourself. Your family. And your community. Be New York tough. Spread the word and get vaccinated now.

Governor Cuomo: Let's give a big round of applause to Donna Lupardo, to Jason Garnar, to Mayor Rich to the National Guard, to the nurses. Thank you to all the people who run the mass vaccination site. Thank you all very much for being here.