QUEENS HITS HUGE MILESTONE, WITH 2
MILLION VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
As the city continues to
encourage New Yorkers to
get tested, vaccinated and
boosted to prevent the spread
of COVID-19, Queens on Jan.
8 became the first county in
New York state to have 2 million
residents receive at least
one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine,
according to the city’s
Health Department.
It’s a milestone for the
“World’s Borough,” which
was once the original “epicenter
of the epicenter” of the
greatest public health crisis
in our lifetime, according to
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards.
“Queens has proven again
and again, culminating with
today’s incredible milestone,
no borough has shown more
strength, resilience and resolve
in our collective comeback
than our own,” Richards
said. “The pandemic is
not over yet, as we’ve learned
with the recent surge in cases
brought on by the omicron
variant, and neither is our
fight against it. To all our
neighbors who continue to
roll up their sleeves to get
both vaccinated and boosted
and to all our healthcare
workers who continue to
serve their communities with
unparalleled heroism, thank
you for stepping up on behalf
of our shared borough.”
In April 2021, Queens became
the first county in New
York state to have 1 million
residents receive at least
one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
As of Jan. 11, 89% of
all Queens residents, regardless
of age, have received at
least one dose — 7 percentage
points higher than the city
average.
In terms of percentage of
residents who are fully vaccinated,
Queens leads the five
boroughs at 80%. For children
ages 5 to 17 in Queens,
66% have received at least
one dose of a vaccine and 51%
are fully vaccinated — nearly
10 points higher than the city
average for both criteria.
During the Queens Borough
Board meeting held on
Monday, Jan. 10, NYC Test
& Trace Corps and the city
Health Department reported
a 960% increase in COVID
cases between November 2021
and December 2021.
“We’ve pulled all of the
levers we’ve had to put testing
in as many places as possible,”
said Laura Atlas, director
of External Affairs at
NYC Test & Trace Corps.
According to the city
Health Department’s data for
Queens, there have been immense
rates of transmission,
with the latest seven-day cases
at 10,000 per day.
Chelsea Cipriano, executive
director of Intergovernmental
Affairs at the city
Health Department, said
their number one tool in the
fight against COVID-19 is getting
people vaccinated.
“If you’re fully vaccinated,
your job is not done. Now
is the time to get a booster
shot,” Cipriano said. “The
vaccine works. Yes, there are
cases among those that are
vaccinated, but it is by and
large among those that are
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.12 COM | JAN. 21 - JAN. 27, 2022
not vaccinated.”
Cipriano and Atlas reiterated
that it’s important for
people to get tested before
they travel and gather with
friends and family. According
to Atlas, NYC Test &
Trace Corps have been adding
new vendors, partners
and locations — brick-andmortar,
mobile units and tent
teams — for vaccination sites
in Queens.
There are CDC units in
the borough and a state mass
testing site at York College in
Jamaica. Additionally, there
are tent teams providing relief
at emergency rooms in
hospitals to get people tested.
When asked by the borough
president how they are
targeting communities with
higher rates of transmission,
Atlas said they are maintaining
an extensive presence
Photo via Flickr Creative Commons/slgckgc
with brick-and-mortar and
mobile units in those communities
and are relying on
people to inform them of the
places residents would go to
for testing.
COVID-19 testing is also
provided at multiple sites at
JFK airport, according to Atlas,
and at LaGuardia Airport
to service residents in East
Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Corona
and Jackson Heights.
“Those folks who are going
to LaGuardia instead of
Elmhurst Hospital have other
alternatives. We also opened
a testing site at Newtown
High School,” Atlas said.
Atlas says they’re also distributing
rapid at-home testing
kits to hospital emergency
rooms and public schools.
According to Richards,
testing and vaccination sites
have been expanded in College
Point and Forest Hills. A
testing unit is also open at the
Ridgewood Clinic providing
PCR and antigen COVID-19
testing.
The borough president
noted that they’re working on
expanding testing sites into
other areas across the borough.
In Far Rockaway, the
percentage of vaccinated residents
increased from 32% last
summer to 60%, according to
Richards.
Richards said they will
continue to work with the city
Department of Health and the
state to continue providing
resources and information to
the Queens community.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
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