New York will be getting its first 170,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the coming weeks, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday.

“If all safety and efficacy approvals are granted, we expect to receive these vaccines doses—from the New York pharmaceutical company Pfizer—on December 15,” Cuomo said.  “The State expects additional doses of both the Pfizer-developed vaccine and the Moderna-developed vaccine this month. “

Following FDA approval, the NY COVID-19 Clinical Advisory Task Force will look at the data and provide an additional level of review to the vaccine. This review will not delay distribution of the vaccine and will simply be another safety measure that ensures we can all trust in the vaccine. The COVID-19 Clinical Advisory Task Force is made up of health experts and medical professionals and is co-chaired by Dr. Charles Rice, the winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

  Healthcare workers and nursing home residents will be the first groups of people to receive the vaccine.

“For most New Yorkers, though, the vaccine is still months away—and we are faced with a set of challenges to overcome before we get it,” the governor said. “Hospitalizations are climbing across the state, and holiday social activity is certain to worsen this trend. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but in the winter we must fight harder than ever to slow the spread and save lives.”