CUOMO UNDER SCRUTINY

NY’s Vax Eligibility Widened to Restaurant Workers, Taxi Drivers

But Gov. Andrew Cuomo is coming under scrutiny for using questionable stats to justify reopening indoor dining on Feb. 14.

New York restaurant employees, taxi drivers and residents who are developmentally disabled are eligible for the coronavirus vaccine if cities or counties have the resources to offer appointments, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday. “I’m leaving it up to the local governments to determine what fits their situation,” he said during a press conference. Just a day ago, Cuomo had refused to open up eligibility to additional groups despite requests from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Cuomo is facing increased scrutiny for his decision to resume indoor dining in New York City on Valentine’s Day. The city’s case count is more than 60 percent higher than it was when indoor dining shut down in December, according to a New York Times data analysis. And, in justifying his decision, Cuomo cherry-picked data points from daily swings in test positivity rates to suggest the overall rate had fallen by 30 percent. The Times’ analysis shows the drop is closer to 17 percent.