The bill, which lawmakers approved Thursday, would add the meningitis vaccination to a short list of vaccinations that pharmacists in the state may administer. Others include vaccinations for the flu, pneumonia and acute herpes zoster.
A new strain of bacterial meningitis has been infecting gay and bisexual men in recent years. Its fatality rate — one in three people, compared with the one in five who succumb to other strains — has alarmed health officials and led to a higher than usual demand for vaccinations.
The city health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, was among those pushing for the legislation.
State Senator Brad Hoylman, a Democrat who represents Chelsea, Greenwich Village and Clinton, which have significant numbers of gay residents, said he had introduced the bill after hearing of gay men who had not been able to easily get the vaccine.
"Doctors don't routinely stock the meningitis vaccine," Mr. Hoylman said Friday.
Demetrios Papanakios, a staff pharmacist at New London Pharmacy in Chelsea, said about three or four gay men a day were coming in with prescriptions for the vaccine and taking it back to their doctors to be administered.
"Before that we got one every 10 months," Mr. Papanakios said.
Without insurance, the cost of the vaccine, $165, can be prohibitive, Mr. Papanakios said. After some men reported difficulty getting vaccinations covered by insurance, the state superintendent of financial services, Benjamin M. Lawsky, sent out a letter in April telling health providers that under New York law, "health insurance plans must cover such immunizations."
Mr. Hoylman, who is gay, said he also was trying to reach men who did not have regular medical providers or who did not want to tell their doctors that they were gay. Black men in Brooklyn who frequent gay clubs, parties and online meeting sites but who are not openly gay have been most affected by the outbreak, according to the city health department.
There have been 22 known cases of bacterial meningitis among gay men in New York City since 2010, seven of them fatal, and the rate of infection seemed to rise last fall and early this year, according to department data.
There have been no new confirmed cases since February. But city health officials are worried that there could be a further outbreak during the annual Gay Pride celebration in New York City over three days starting Friday, which as many as one million people are expected to attend.
Still, if signed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the law will take effect 90 days later, too late for Gay Pride this year. As of June 17, an estimated 13,574 people had been vaccinated as a result of the current outbreak, according to the health department.
The bacteria are carried in the nose and mouth and can be spread through close contact like kissing and sharing a glass. People have mistaken the symptoms for the flu and died without seeking medical care.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: June 23, 2013
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the age at which people will be able to receive the meningitis vaccine in pharmacies. It is 18, not 11 or 12.
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