Hiram Alejandro Durán/THE CITY
New Yorkers working and volunteering at nonprofits that help meet the huge pandemic-driven demand for food became eligible Monday for the COVID-19 vaccine — but mutual aid group members apparently don’t count.
The Cuomo administration move followed weeks of lobbying by leaders of nonprofits who argued that those providing meals to food-insecure people across the five boroughs need the shots to protect themselves and the growing legions they serve.
“We’re on the front lines,” said Stephen Grimaldi, executive director of New York Common Pantry.
The news that the workers and volunteers would be added to Phase 1b of the inoculation rollout arrived in an email sent to advocates Monday by Kerri Neifeld, the state’s assistant secretary for Human Services & Mental Hygiene.