Sharon Harrison is unable to walk long distances, so having a vaccination site crop up around the corner from her East New York apartment on Saturday was essential.
The effort to get a life-saving jab into the arms of all New Yorkers continues with pop-up vaccination sites in hard hit areas like the Spring Creek section of East New York.
On March 4, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced 12 community based-pop up vaccination sites with the promise to inoculate over 4,000 New Yorkers as part of the state’s commitment to provide equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine while working with community leaders and outreach teams to disseminate shots to those eligible in some of the neighborhoods most-impacted by the ongoing pandemic.
“Reaching underserved communities across the state is critical to a vaccination strategy that serves all New Yorkers, and community-based pop-up sites bring the vaccine directly to those who have been hardest hit by the virus,” Cuomo said in a statement. “As we continue to expand access, we’re also partnering with community leaders to address vaccine skepticism which remains a large problem in underserved communities. Fairness and equity in the vaccine distribution process remain our top priorities and we will not rest until COVID is defeated once and for all.”
COVID-19 infection rates have remained high in various zip codes in East New York and Canarsie, with many still in state-designated red and orange zones. In an attempt to serve those communities, makeshift vaccine hubs were erected for one week only starting March 4.
The community spaces have accommodated approximately 4,000 patients per day across the 12 sites, operated by the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Task Force.
On March 6 and 7, residents in Spring Creek Towers — formerly known as Starrett City — and others who live in the 11239 and 11207 zip codes, were invited to receive their vaccination at a pop-up hub at the Brooklyn Sports Club on Van Siclen Avenue. Within a two-day period, over 1,000 people were treated in the Spring Creek Towers site alone.
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Virus Cases Increase in Italy
Italy is seeing a steady rise in coronavirus infections but a national vaccination campaign and tougher restrictions mean numbers should start improving in late spring, the country’s health minister has said.
Infections in Italy, the first western country hit hard by the pandemic, rose by 10% last week compared with the week before, and officials have warned that the situation is deteriorating as highly contagious variants gain ground.
“The application of more rigorous measures and the progressive rise in the number of vaccinated people make us think that already in the second half of spring (contagion) numbers will be improving,” health minister Roberto Speranza told the daily la Repubblica in an interview.
He added that the coming weeks “would not be at all easy”.
The UK variant represented 54% of cases in the latest study by Italy’s Superior Health Institute, ISS, but the percentage was expected to be higher now, the minister added.
On Friday, the government imposed a nationwide lockdown over the Easter holidays and placed curbs on business and movement on most of Italy.
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US Over 100M Doses of Vaccine Administered
The US surpassed 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered over the weekend, a symbolic milestone in the fight to end the pandemic
The vast majority of the shots have been two-dose regimens from Pfizer/BioNTech (54 million doses given) and Moderna (52 million doses given). Just over 1 million people have received the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine, which gained authorization Feb. 27. Alaska leads US states with 17% of its population fully vaccinated; last week, the state became the first to open eligibility to all adults. See how your state is doing here.
The US leads the world in total doses administered, while Israel leads in per capita vaccines, having fully inoculated more than 55% of its citizens. The US joined Australia and other allies in committing to provide at least a billion doses across Asia by 2022, a move many believe is meant to counter vaccine diplomacy by Russia and China.
Separately, officials are reviewing data suggesting young students in classrooms can reduce social distancing requirements from 6 to 3 feet. Preliminary studies have shown no substantial increase in viral transmission under the change. The move would potentially expedite school reopenings.
The US has reported 534,889 total COVID-19 deaths, with a daily average near 1,400 (see data).
Dr. Fauci Warns of Possible New Virus Surge, Urges Trump Voters to Get Vaccinated
America’s top infectious disease expert warned that a new wave of COVID-19 infections could be on the way while urging former President Trump to tell his supporters to be vaccinated.
Speaking with Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday,” Anthony Fauci pointed to surges across the European Union and warned that Europe’s case trends tend to be a few weeks ahead of similar trends in the U.S.
Europe “always seem to be a few weeks ahead of us,” Fauci said, adding that it was “absolutely no time to declare victory” over the virus.
“They thought they were home free, and they weren’t, and now they are seeing cases going up,” he said of European health officials.
Asked by Wallace what could be done to combat vaccine skepticism in the U.S., particularly among Republicans, Fauci urged Trump to tell his supporters to get vaccinated.
“It would be very helpful for the effort for that to happen. I’m very surprised by the number of Republicans who say they won’t get vaccinated,” he said.
“I think it would make all the difference in the world” if Trump were to express support for vaccines, Fauci said. “He’s a widely popular person among Republicans.”
“I just don’t get it, Chris, why they don’t want to get vaccinated,” he added.
During a separate appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Fauci said it’s “disturbing” that Trump voters are choosing to not get vaccinated.
“We’ve got to dissociate political persuasion from commonsense, no-brainer public health things,” he said.
“[Vaccines have] rescued us from smallpox, from polio, from measles,” he added. “What is the problem here?”
His remarks come just days after a PBS poll found that nearly half of all Republican-aligned men said they would not get the COVID-19 vaccine, a result that has vexed health officials around the country seeking to drive down case rates.
More than 101 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the U.S. so far, and in a national address last week, President Biden pledged that all American adults would be eligible to receive the vaccine by May 1.
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