New York Gov. Cuomo says the coronavirus vaccine will take 6 to 9 months to make a difference

• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters Wednesday that it would take between six and nine months for the coronavirus vaccine to get widespread enough to make a difference.
• "It's a foot race over a six- to nine-month period," Cuomo said of the vaccine.
• "But it's just a question of logistics and supply and making it happen. And making it happen is hard," he added.
• Dr. Anthony Fauci has said "at least 75%, hopefully close to 80, 85%," of the public will need to get vaccinated before life returns to some semblance of normal.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday poured cold water on the notion that life would spring back to normal now that coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out.

"It's a foot race over a six- to nine-month period," the Democrat said at his press briefing in Albany, New York.

"We have to get the vaccination out as soon as we can," Cuomo said. "That will bring the COVID rate down."

Read more: When can I get a coronavirus vaccine?

He added: "But it's just a question of logistics and supply and making it happen. And making it happen is hard."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious-disease expert in the US, previously said the vaccine needed to reach "at least 75%, hopefully close to 80, 85%," of the public to render the virus irrelevant in daily life for most people.

Cuomo echoed those figures in his press briefing and said significant government action was required to achieve that milestone.

"The priorities are: We need to have a public-education campaign," he said.

"Right now, we have 50% of the population who says they won't take it. You cannot get to 75% without the number 50," he added.

That will involve substantial outreach to "the communities who have paid the highest price - the Black community, the Latino community, the poor community," he said.

Cuomo said 87,750 doses of the Pfizer vaccine had arrived in New York, a state with a population of almost 20 million.

The governor underscored his message of caution by illustrating the amount of effort it would take to "expedite" the distribution of the vaccine in the Empire State.

"That's trains, planes, automobiles, everything working," Cuomo said. "It's the most ambitious governmental operation that has been undertaken, period."