Covid-19: New York to Expand Vaccine Access to People With Chronic Conditions Last Updated March 22, 2021, 1:44 p.m. ETMarch 22, 2021, 1:44 p.m. ET AstraZeneca’s vaccine has been shown to protect against the virus variant first detected in the U.K. Canada extends its cruise ship ban until 2022. Here’s what you need to know: -0:00 N.Y. Will Open Vaccines to People With Certain Health Conditions Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said New York would allow Covid-19 vaccinations beginning Feb. 15 for people with some chronic health conditions that put them at greater risk of death from the virus. The hospitals have had eight weeks to focus on their staff, and that’s how we achieve the 75 percent. We’re giving them one more week to do the last workers, please go back and appeal to them one more time — the people who haven’t taken it. Then what we’re going to do is reallocate the doses that were set aside for the hospital workers. And we will then give that allocation to the local health departments to do people with comorbidities. And that will start Feb. 15. Ninety-four percent of the people who die from Covid are people with comorbidities or other underlying conditions — 94 percent. So why don’t we do this group of workers, why don’t we do this group of workers? You do every group in this state when you do people with comorbidities. If you are a carpenter with a comorbidity, if you are a teacher with a comorbidity, if you are a homemaker with a comorbidity, if you’re a lawyer with a comorbidity, whoever you are, 94 percent of the deaths are people with comorbidities. We’re working with the C.D.C. to establish the comorbidities list. What is a comorbidity, how do you define it? C.D.C. has guidance on that. We’re working with the C.D.C. to clarify some definitions, but we’re basically going to follow the C.D.C. guidance.