New York Will Receive 170,000 Doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine By December 15

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in a press conference on Wednesday that New York expects to receive 170,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine by December 15.

The state is expecting additional shipments of the Pfizer vaccine, as well as the Moderna vaccine, later in the month or in early January.

The state will follow the recently released Center for Disease Control guidelines, prioritizing healthcare workers and residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in this first phase of vaccine distribution. Cuomo hopes that the first and second rounds of vaccines will at least cover that entire group.

New York's vaccination guidelines call for first responders, teachers and school staff working in-person, public health workers and some essential workers, to be vaccinated in phase two. People over 65 and people under 65 that are considered high-risk will get vaccinated in phase three. Any remaining essential workers get vaccinated in phase four, and everyone else gets vaccinated in phase five.

Cuomo expects widespread immunization, with 75% to 85% of the state vaccinated, to occur by June at the earliest, but it could take up to September 2021.

This news comes after Dr. Anthony Fauci recently discussed his thoughts on when Broadway could return to 'normal.'

"If [75-85% of people] get vaccinated through April, May and June, and really do a full-court press to get everybody vaccinated, you can get back to normal or at least approaching close to normal, as you get into the late summer and early fall, Dr. Fauci told CNBC.