To exactly four months after the start of the vaccination strategy against him COVID-19 on New York With a slow start, with few eligible groups and barely a drug available, some stones on this path to immunization have already been cleared. Although now some signs continue to show that there is a great obstacle to overcome: mistrust and skepticism of a segment of the population that is hesitant to access the injection.
Local media report that for example in the ‘Javits Center’ in Manhattan, the largest vaccination center in the city, has a lot of appointments available. And that is worrying for some officials.
The president of the Health Committee of the Municipal Council Mark Levine, specified in his Twitter account that some 6,000 citations for the Pfizer vaccine for those over 16 years old. However, as of Thursday morning, almost all appointments remained unused, including another 1,000 for this Friday.
“This is the largest vaccination center in New York, now appointments are made in minutes. This is an event deeply disturbing“Said the official on the social network.
The New York City Councilor called it a “turning point” in the effort to vaccinate residents of the Big Apple.
“After months of intense competition for dating, spaces are now filling much more slowly. Our challenge is no longer managing the demand crush. It is to provide the doses to the people who need it and build trust in this life-saving solution, ”Levine tweeted. .
44% vaccinated in NYC
Mayor Bill de Blasio on the contrary, it does not interpret the availability of appointments as a problem.
“I feel very good about the fact that there are many quotes for people and are easier to get. I am much happier with the situation where people can get your vaccine quickly “said the Mayor.
Until now, the 44% of eligible people in the Big Apple they have received at least their first vaccine.
At this point, with the number of people already immunized, the City is now faced with the challenge of reaching people who could not dedicate time and resources to receive the vaccine, but most difficult those who are hesitant or just not eager to get vaccinated.
The ‘J&J’ effect
But now another problem is added. Although the route of herd immunity through vaccination is interpreted by the City and State Health authorities as the most important weapon in the fight Against the pandemic and economic recovery, the resistance of many to access the drug persists, which could have been worsened by what happened with the vaccines of Jhonson & Jhonson.
The ‘anti-vaccine’ discourse in recent weeks encountered a situation that could be giving more ‘batteries’ to that position: the Jhonson & Jhonson (J&J) single dose distribution pause by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) before reports of clots in six women of which one died.
Councilman Levine called this fact “A great blow” to the vaccination effort, particularly in the search for vaccine equity.
“The time of this interruption is particularly unfortunate, at a time when vaccination is shifting from those who have been motivated to find an appointment on the web, to those the City has to try harder to reach, “Levine said in a statement.
In that transit is the Colombian teacher Maritza Robles, 45, Queens resident, who says that if he had doubts about these pharmaceutical products that “came out so quickly”, now reinforces his thesis of not injecting.
“What happened is a very clear proof that hardly are experimenting with us ”, he said.
On the sidewalk in front of this position, you will find Puerto Rican José Verde, 55 years old, who said that he was inoculated with the single dose of J&J a month ago and felt the “normal effects” of any vaccine.
“There are people who know take an aspirin and die. I asked how many people have had this vaccine and how many have had terrible effects. Nothing!”.
The commissioner of the City Department of Health (DOHMH), Dr. Dave Chokshi, reiterated that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines would continue to be distributed throughout the city while the J&J vaccine continues with its “pause”
“The vaccination strategy is working exactly as it should. And the actions we take locally reflect the seriousness with which we we interpret the signals of our alert systems, “he added.
According to the City doctor with the revisions and the creation of new vaccination centers, the 99% of New Yorkers live within a mile from an inoculation site.
“Now everything is easier”
Changes in vaccination plans, compared to your started 16 weeks ago, are palpable in the communities.
“If we have to talk about the ease with which the residents of the Big Apple access the vaccine, there is not much reasoning to argue that much progress has been made. At the beginning of the year, it was a long way from the poorest neighborhoods. It was all very complicated. Now, there are several routes, for most New Yorkers, “he explained. Eleazar Bueno president of the community board 12 from Upper Manhattan.
Today in New York all people over 16 years of age are eligible to be inoculated, those over 75 do not need an appointment in some willing centers and more and more drugs are more accessible to Hispanic majority neighborhoods, to public housing projects and vulnerable communities.
The activist Aida Illescas from International Ecuadorian Alliance of faith that for communities like Crown, in QueensGradually, the action of the Health authorities to reach these communities with the injections has been spreading.
“A few months ago even a COVID-19 test was very complicated. Now in the acoming Rooselvet there are several free points. The vaccine is now arriving little by little. Yes, we can assure that there has been a rapprochement on the part of the City with the grassroots organizations to distribute it. If we compare it with our countries, here the vaccine advances. Regardless of immigration status or health insurance. It is a privilege ”, considered the Ecuadorian.
Let’s get vaccinated!
La Inmigrante quisqueyana Yadira Rosario, 40 years old, has already been vaccinated. As a worker in one of the industries that has been hit the hardest by the economic recession caused by the pandemic “Bet everything” that with prevention and mass immunization the city reconnects with its economic vitality.
“I respect the decision of each one. But I think the vaccine is the formula for us to move forward. Everyone is doing their part. Here all the details are taken care of to protect customers, to protect ourselves. It is a great advance that after a year of the pandemic we already have a great solution in sight “, reacted Yadira who works in a Cuban food restaurant on Washington Heights.
The islander works in the middle of security vinyls that guarantee protection between clients, measures the temperature, points the phone of each client, in the middle of the new routine that thousands of feeders in the Big Apple are complying with to guarantee that the ghost of economic closure does not appear on the city skyline.
“With everything we do, plus the vaccineI think we are going to go don’t slow down ”, calculates the immigrant from The Cibao.
Here’s the vaccine in NYC:
- 5,503,420 people have been immunized with at least one dose in all five Big Apple counties according to data shared by DOHMH.
- 6,312,815 doses they have so far been shipped to New York City.
- 20% of the total of immunized identify as Hispanic, 13% as African American and 20% as Asian.
- 35% of NYC residents who have received an injection are white.
- 18% of the elderly 65-year-old vaccinated identifies as Hispanic.
- 38% is the vaccination rate in The Bronx meaning the lowest level in the five boroughs, followed by Brooklyn (40%) and Queens (46%)
- 55% of eligible groups in Manhattan they have already received at least one dose.
How and where to get an appointment?
- All people eligible to be vaccinated in NYC have two ways to find out how and where to get vaccinated, and to make an appointment: the phone line 877-VAX-4NYC and the website nyc.gov/vaccinefinder
- In New York State, you can use the application “Am I eligible ”and https://am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/ to verify your eligibility and schedule.
- New York State also has a vaccination hotline that you can call to schedule a vaccination: 1-833-NYS-4VAX (1-833-697-4829).
- New Yorkers 75 years and older plus their companion can get vaccinated together without at mass vaccination sites 24/7 operated by the NYC Test & Trace Corps at Brooklyn Army Terminal, Bathgate and Citi Field. These three sites are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- If you have a neighbor or an acquaintance who is an older adult who could have mobility problems or other difficulties to get immunized call 311 or 212-Aging-NYC (212-244-6469) which is the New York City Office of Aging.
- Read more TurboVax.info: this website was created to automatically show when new appointments are available, using a bot to track city and state run vaccine websites. It is paired with a Twitter account that frequently tweets new batches of quotes and provides updates on the operation.
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