These NYC Neighborhoods Are Falling Behind On COVID Vaccinations

New York City NY

23 July, 2021

2:55 PM

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NEW YORK CITY — Dozens of New York City neighborhoods have fallen far behind on coronavirus vaccinations and are at risk of a Delta variant-driven "pandemic of the unvaccinated," data shows. Mayor Bill de Blasio last week see-sawed between triumphant proclamations about vaccine milestones and visible frustration over New Yorkers who still refuse to get the shot in the face of the more-contagious Delta variant. Minutes after he announced the city hit 70 percent of adults getting at least one dose, he said "give me a bleeping break" when asked about some city workers' incorrect belief they don't need to get the shot if they've been infected with COVID-19. "It's got to end," he said. "It was fine for a while for people to hang back and they wanted more information and they wanted to see how it went. I think we have a pretty good sample size, 150 million people got vaccinated. What, do you need more to be convinced?" At least some city workers soon will run out of excuses to be vaccination — de Blasio and health officials announced health care employees at city-run hospitals and clinics will have to get vaccinated or submit to weekly tests starting Aug. 2. De Blasio on Friday also hinted that he's looking into more strict mandates. But it's clear large swaths of communities across the city are well below the city's at-least-one-shot 70 percent average for adults. Forty ZIP Codes have partial vaccination rates below 60 percent, data shows. Partial vaccination rates are even lower when New Yorkers of all ages are counted. They stand at 37 percent for Edgemere and Far Rockaway — the lowest rate in the city, according to data. Many, if not most, of those low vaccination ZIP Codes are in poor communities of color. City and state officials have tried to direct more resources toward those areas, with mixed success. And, so far, de Blasio's talk of vaccine mandates only apply to city workers. Only 43 percent of NYPD personnel have received a vaccine dose, NBC4 reported. De Blasio said he hopes the city's mandates will encourage private businesses and institutions to enact similar measures. "I'm calling upon all New York City employers, including our private hospitals: move immediately to some form of mandate, whatever the maximum you feel you can do," he said Friday on WNYC's "Brian Lehrer Show." "Any form of mandate, including the type we're doing, you know, the either/or approach, any type of mandate helps. It will move the ball. It will get more people vaccinated. It will change consciousness."