New Yorkers 16 and Up can Get Shots without Appointments, State to Drop Masks Outside

By Yehudit Garmaise

     Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today that on April 29, all state-operated mass vaccination sites will accept walk-in appointments for anyone who is 16-years-old and up.

   In addition, an hour after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued new guidance that whether they are vaccinated or not, Americans no longer need to wear masks outside in spaces that are not congested, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that in New York state, the long-awaited change has taken place immediately.

  Jay Varma, MD, the senior public health adviser of Mayor Bill de Blasio, said this morning, "We look forward to reviewing the guidance in detail and seeing how best to apply it to New York." 

  According to the new CDC guidance, Americans now do not have to wear masks outside when they walk, bike, and run alone or with family members. In addition, fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks at outdoor gatherings or at outdoor restaurants, non-vaccinated Americans should remain masked when they attend outdoor events that include many people who are in close proximities to each other, the CDC says.

   In crowded outdoor spaces, which are typical in New York City, however, everyone should mask up, regardless of vaccination status, the CDC says.

   Even Mitch Katz, MD, the CEO of NYC’s Health + Hospitals, who, of course, has been vaccinated, said this morning at the mayor’s press conference, that over the weekend, when he was sitting with a vaccinated friend “by the beautiful Hudson River,” “I felt very comfortable taking off my mask.

  “There was no one near us.”

  When Dr. Katz walks to work on “crowded Broadway,” however, he wears his mask.

  “There, people are walking very close to me. I feel like there is the possibility of someone coughing on me or someone breathing on me, and even though I feel very good about the vaccine, we know it is not 100%."