Combating COVID ENDORSEMENT WATCH
Yvette Clarke talks vaccines at Kingsbrook Medical Center
Brooklyn Borough
President
Robert E. Cornegy, Jr. endorsed by NYC
Firefi ghters and Fire Offi cers
The Uniformed Firefi ghters Association
(UFA) and the Uniformed Fire Offi cers Association
(UFOA)
announced their endorsement
of City
Counci lmember
Robert E. Cornegy,
Jr for Brooklyn Borough
President.
“Every day, New
York City fi refi ghters
are saving lives,
protecting our city,
and helping New
Robert Cornegy. File photo
Yorkers in crisis.
And every day, Rob Cornegy is there, standing
up for New York City fi refi ghters, so we
can do our job for you,” said UFA President
Andrew Ansbro.
They praised Cornegy’s experience with
and commitment to public safety and public
safety professionals. They stressed the
need to elect individuals who will protect the
economy and growth of New York City, and
support the hard-working people and families
who live here.
“His experience and passion for public
service makes him an excellent community
leader to represent the great borough
of Brooklyn and a friend of the UFOA,” said
UFOA President James Lemonda.
Antonio Reynoso, endorsed by CSA Local 1
The Council of School Supervisors and
Administrators (CSA) endorsed City Councilmember
Antonio Reynoso for Brooklyn Borough
President.
“It’s critical that we elect leaders like Antonio
Reynoso who have a long track record
of fi ghting for our children,” said CSA President
Mark Cannizzaro. “We know he will
advocate for all students including our most
vulnerable populations, win valuable resources
to support their evolving needs, and
ensure our public schools fi nally get longoverdue
funding.”
Reynoso said that he was proud to receive
their endorsement and that he understands
the importance of education.
“I’m ready to keep fi ghting alongside CSA
and its hard working members for stronger,
more equitable schools,” he said.
Have an endorsement? Email info@kings
countypolitics.com to be included in Politics
NY’s weekly roundup.
COURIER LIFE, APRIL 9-15, 2021 23
NYC’s #1 Source for Political & Election News
BY ARIAMA C. LONG
Brooklynites looking to get
vaccinated lined up outside of
Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center,
one the oldest hospitals in the
borough, as U.S. Rep Yvette D.
Clarke (NY-09) held an in-person
press conference onsite April 6.
Clarke, joined by LaRay Brown,
CEO of One Brooklyn Health System
(OBH) and Interfaith Medical
Center, promoted the distribution
of COVID-19 vaccines, highlighted
the achievements of Brooklyn’s
front-line workers, and toured the
vaccination facilities.
“Our frontline workers, including
here at Kingsbrook have
seen the devastating effects of
COVID-19 fi rst hand,” began
Clarke. “Now I’m proud to say help
is not just on the way, it’s here.”
The eligibility to get vaccinated
is now for people over the age of
16. Clarke added that she believes
there will be an emergency authorization
for students and children
younger than that so they can attend
school unimpeded.
“As of last night 3,372,888 people
in Brooklyn have been fully
vaccinated and that’s approximately
15%. 34% of which are our
seniors. So far over 4.4 million
doses have been administered
across the city and we are only
just beginning,” said Clarke.
The cavernous ballroom at
Kingsbrook is split down the middle
with a large stage and projector
on the left, where the others gave
their speeches, and a vaccination
operation on the right. Across from
them, people of all ages and backgrounds
shuffl ed in one by one
through tables and chairs where
staff sat to accommodate them before
moving behind a large curtain
at the back of the room for privacy.
Once a free shot was received,
patients moved around the other
end of the curtain to one of the massive
comfy leather chairs arranged
for them to relax in as music played
in the background. Staff regularly
came by to wipe the chairs down
for the next person or encourage
someone to rotate and massage the
arm that was injected.
A Brooklyn resident and ex-nurse gets her fi rst dose of vaccine at Kingsbrook.
Photo by Ariama C. Long.
Ron Levy, Director of Pharmacy
at Kingsbrook, testifi ed that
the surge of COVID-19 cases last
year had been the most exigent experience
he had had in his 17 years
at the hospital. “We usually do
pretty well, but at one point we had
30 codes a day,” said Levy.
Levy said the reason the hospital’s
staff and pharmacists are so
motivated to aid in the vaccination
efforts is because they “never want
to go back.”
“It might sound a little corny,
but it really is a point of pride,” said
Levy. “People get excited in the text
groups, like oh we did 200 or so vaccines
today. It’s an act of passion.”
As of April 5, Kingsbrook has
administered 21,146 vaccinations
with 18,229 going to community
members, and 59,923 vaccinations
were administered by the OBH System,
according to Levy. Levy said
at the current peak Kingsbrook did
about 800 vaccinations in a day.
At least 570 have been single
dose Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccines,
which according to Levy, the
hospital tries to administer to elderly
patients so they don’t have to
return for a second time. Levy said
that Kingsbrook has been very fortunate
to have all three vaccine
brands on hand, Pfi zer-Moderna,
AstraZeneca, and J&J. They were
using Pfi zer and J&J vaccines for
walk-ins coming in before, during
and after the conference, said
Levy.
Chief Quality Offi cer at One
Brooklyn Health System Dr. Kurt
S. Kodroff said that though they do
have all three brands, they will be
using Pfi zer-Moderna and J&J.
Concerned reports worldwide
have come in about links to Astra-
Zenaca’s vaccine and rare blood
clots in the brain. So much so that
the Oxford trial is on pause until
they get more information from
the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare
products Regulatory Agency
(MHRA), “which is currently undergoing
a ‘serious and detailed review’
of the shot,” reported Forbes.
Both Clarke and Brown spoke
to the “mistrust” surrounding the
vaccine in communities of color.
“We must not adopt this harmful
mindset. What I’m seeing here at
Kingsbrook, I am of the impression
that we are at the tipping point,” said
Clarke. “People are adopting the idea
of being vaccinated.”
“There has been much talk
about vaccine hesitancy among
communities of color,” said Brown.
“From my perspective it’s really
not about vaccine hesitancy, it’s
about access. And when you make
a service easy for people to get we
know from testimonials that people
will come.”
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