Governor Cuomo outlined his 2021 agenda in the State of the State Address this morning from the War Room in the State Capitol. Cuomo announced that he will be delivering three additional speeches in the coming days with additional proposals and details of the following seven-point plan, announced this morning:

We will share information on his upcoming speeches as they're scheduled. At this time the Governor has not released his State of the State book, but has released highlights of his Reimagine, Rebuild, Renew Plan.

Full video of the State of the State is available on YouTube.

It is State policy that all available doses of the COVID-19 vaccine must be used as quickly as possible. Therefore, it is critical that all vaccine providers plan accordingly to ensure every dose is administered. All providers should keep a daily list of “stand by” eligible individuals to be notified of open appointments for vaccine administration on short notice.

As soon as providers are aware that there are more doses than people to be vaccinated, “standby” eligible individuals should be called, or other steps must be taken to bring additional eligible recipients to the facility or clinic before the acceptable use period expires. However, there may be times that there are doses of vaccine that remain at the close of business or the end of a vaccine clinic and no one from the priority population can come in before the doses expire.

CP has recently signed on to a letter demanding Governor Cuomo prioritize the vaccination of individuals with I/DD living in the community and their care managers.

Prior to the webinar, questions can be submitted in advance by emailing them to vaccinate.ny@exec.ny.gov.

To watch the webinar, follow this link: http://ny.gov/vaccinateny.

We understand there was little notice given for this webinar and will post a link of the recording when it becomes available.

OPWDD, OMH, SED and OASAS recently conducted a series of webinars in place of on-site trainings on the January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 Consolidated Fiscal Report (CFR). The CFR webinar series can be accessed on YouTube at the following links:

These webinars have been developed to make it easier for providers to train staff in CFR preparation, to give providers the ability to access CFR training at the time most convenient for provider agency staff, and to try to achieve a greater degree of accuracy in provider CFR submissions. 

Join the doctors of StationMD to learn about the COVID-19 vaccine. • How the vaccines work

• How vaccines are tested and approved

• The benefits and risks

Following a brief presentation, they will open for questions about the vaccine for providers and those that they support. The webinar series will be led by a panel of esteemed physicians with a special dedication to individuals with IDD, and their circles of support.

There is limited room in each session, so please register early at the links below:

The National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) has made available a webinar by Dr. Rick Rader entitled “The Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines for Direct Support Professionals”. Dr. Rader is a Board member of AADMD and on the National Council for Disabilities.