NEW YORK CITY (BNO NEWS) — New York City will declare a state of emergency to implement new resources to combat the spread of swine flu, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.

The announcement came hours after New York Governor Paterson announced a disaster emergency declaration for the state, saying the virus killed at least 75 people in New York state.

“Governor Paterson’s timely Executive Order on H1N1 clears the way for pharmacists to vaccinate children as well as adults,” Mayor Bloomberg said. “It will also let a larger number of health care workers administer vaccines, and strengthen our health department’s ability to track the use of vaccine supplies citywide.”

Governor Paterson’s emergency declaration will provide additional personnel and flexibility to local governments as they implement the statewide vaccination campaign against H1N1 influenza. “The nationwide H1N1 vaccination campaign represents the first time in 33 years that the United States has attempted to conduct a mass vaccination campaign of this proportion for influenza,” Governor Paterson said. “Local governments are reporting that the current public health workforce is not sufficient to thoroughly execute a vaccination campaign of this magnitude. Those local governments and health care providers specifically requested that we issue this emergency declaration to give them flexibility to use additional personnel and resources in New York’s vaccination campaign.”

Mayor Bloomberg said he was seeking to implement similar changes on a city level, and asked New York City’s Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, to make “conforming” changes in the New York City Health Code.

“This will include a technical declaration of an emergency, even though New York City has yet to see significant influenza activity this fall,” Bloomberg said in his written statement. “Vaccination is the best weapon we have against the flu, but we understand that many New Yorkers still have questions about the H1N1 vaccine. I encourage any New Yorker who has questions about the influenza vaccines to call 311 or visit www.nyc.gov/flu.”

A spokeswoman for the New York State Department of Health, Claire Pospisil, earlier described H1N1 as “widespread” in a conversation with BNO News, but said the emergency declarations are no reason to be more concerned. Pospisil said the executive order from the governor, besides declaring a state of emergency, also enables the state to increase the number of people who are allowed to administer vaccines, such as dentists.

Asked if people should be more worried because of the state of emergency for swine flu, Pospisil said: “No, I don’t think so. It helps us to be more prepared.”

President Obama recently declared a national state of emergency to add more resources to combat the spread of the virus.