SAMPLE
VillageCareMAX is an HMO plan with Medicare and New York State Medicaid contracts. Enrollment in VillageCareMAX depends on contract renewal. Service area includes the
following counties: Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), New York (Manhattan) and Queens. For accommodations of persons with special needs at meetings, call 1-800-469-6292 (TTY: 711).
VillageCareMAX complies with Federal civil rights laws and does not exclude people or treat them differently because of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.
ATENCIÓN: si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-800-469-6292 (TTY: 711).
COURIER L 18 IFE, MARCH 5-11, 2021
El Caribe opens
as seniors-only
vaccine site
El Caribe in Mill Basin. Google
BY JESSICA PARKS
A vaccination site earmarked
for the city’s senior
population opened at
a beloved Mill Basin catering
hall on Feb. 25.
El Caribe joined a
suite of other COVID-19
vaccination hubs across
the Five Boroughs focused
on inoculating the
city’s elders. The Strickland
Avenue venue began
dolling out vaccines on
the same day that Mayor
Bill de Blasio announced
the site, and is expected to
offer 1,000 appointments
per day to New Yorkers
over the age of 65.
“We’re building more
access points for people
to get vaccinated and
New Yorkers are rolling
up their sleeves by getting
the shot when their
turn comes,” said a city
Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene
spokesperson.
Southern Brooklyn
is home to some of the
zip codes with the highest
positivity rates in the
city, as well as some of the
city’s highest populations
of seniors. According to
city data, people over the
age of 65 make up 14.9 percent
of the population in
the geographic boundaries
of Community Board
18, which stretches along
the waterfront from Canarsie
to Marine Park.
The El Caribe’s transition
into a vaccination
site comes as area politicians
call on the city and
state to increase vaccine
access to the large elderly
populations they
represent. While the
city has seen higher vaccine
allocation at large,
local politicians say
their constituents are
still struggling to register
for the shot online,
and many of those who
do score an appointment
are having to travel far
and wide when it comes
time to get the jab.
“We need to see
the city putting in resources
in those areas
that need it most. My
district needs it most,”
Councilmember Chaim
Deutsch previously told
Brooklyn Paper.
Deutch represents
Sheepshead Bay, Brighton
Beach and Manhattan
Beach, which records
the second-highest sevenday
positivity rate in the
city and where 6 percent
of adults are vaccinated,
city statistics show.
The El Caribe was established
in 1982, and
has served since then as
a venue for a variety of
events, from weddings
and other celebratory receptions
to political fundraisers
for local elected offi
cials, clubs and more.
The 11234 zip code —
which includes Mill Basin
— recorded a 5.87 percent
positivity rate for the
coronavirus between Feb.
21 and Feb. 27, and 8 percent
of adults are fully-inoculated,
while another 7
percent are partially vaccinated.
Those 65 or over who
live or work in New York
City can schedule an appointment
at El Caribe at
www.apschedule.com/
bmbCOVIDvax.
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