Ana María has lived in East Harlem her entire life and the community is like her family. That is why his wish is for there to be easy access to the covid-19 vaccine.
“We need the vaccine, it is important … I do not understand why we do not have vaccines here in this area,” said Ana María Vázquez.
And it is that East Harlem has been one of the neighborhoods most affected by the pandemic and does not yet have its own mass vaccination center.
Local elected officials gathered this Tuesday in front of the Boriken medical center to demand that the city and the state reinforce vaccination in El Barrio.
“Let there be access and we here are fighting and pushing to ensure that there is more access so that it is easier to receive it in this community,” said Assemblyman Robert J Rdriguez.
According to them, only 13 percent of East Harlem’s population has been inoculated, while in other neighborhoods like the Upper East Side the vaccination rate is more than 20 percent.
Assemblyman Rodriguez says El Barrio has a large network of health and social organizations that should be used.
“If they give us resources to give enough vaccines, if we regularly receive the necessary vaccines and we are with these organizations, we can do it, we can be successful,” added Rodríguez.
In addition, they claim poor coordination in the deliveries of vaccines to medical centers.
Elected officials are also demanding that the city and state put together some kind of schedule so that deliveries are regular and so that vaccination centers know exactly when they will receive the doses.
Assemblyman Rodriguez along with Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and other officials sent a letter to the city and state health departments citing their concerns and requests, but have yet to receive a response.
For her part, Ana María wants to see her entire family protected as soon as possible.
“I feel that everyone should be protected because knowing that people that I grew up that I knew when I was little are no longer here because of the pandemic is very sad,” said Ana María.
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