20K Newly Eligible NYC Youths Got Coronavirus Vaccine, Mayor Says

New York City NY

18 May, 2021

12:26 PM

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NEW YORK CITY — Tens of thousands of young New Yorkers have rolled up their sleeves for the coronavirus vaccine, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. "We have already in New York City had 20,000 12- to 15-year-olds vaccinated," de Blasio said Tuesday. Children between 12 and 15 years old last week became eligible to receive the two-dose Pfizer vaccine. De Blasio quickly tried to drum up enthusiasm among those "Generation Z" youths and their parents. And less than a week into the vaccination expansion he declared himself "very pleased" with the number of children getting the vaccine in the city. It's a different story with at least one prominent New York City politician. Council Member Mark Levine told New York Post reporter Julia Marsh that the pace is still far too slow, Marsh informed the mayor during a daily briefing. Levine proposed doing vaccinations in schools, Marsh said. Since 12-15 yr olds became eligible last week the vax rate for this group has been slow. There hasn't been a crush of demand like when previous groups became eligible. NYC has to make it much easier for young people to get vax'd. Obvious solution: offer vaccination in schools.— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) May 16, 2021 De Blasio said the school vaccination site idea is "worth a look." "I'd say the first few days are too early of a sample size to talk about the overall trajectory," he said. "I'm very pleased with 20,000 kids in just a few days time with something brand-new. So, I actually think that number's going to grow steadily, but sure we're gonna look at as always different options of what's the best way to reach people." New York City has distributed 7.63 million doses of coronavirus vaccine total since the inoculation effort began.