BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
The Fire Department’s
team of EMTs and paramedics
save lives every day by answering
the emergency call of
duty — but on March 30, they
continued an effort to protect
the most vulnerable New
Yorkers before receiving a 911
call for help.
The fi rst responders were
dispatched to visit the residences
of homebound seniors
and deliver the COVID-19 vaccine
directly to them, as part
of an ongoing program created
in collaboration with the
Fire Department’s Incident
Management team and the Department
for the Aging.
Both Mayor Bill de Blasio
and Fire Commissioner Dan
Nigro saluted some of these
life-savers on Tuesday morning
during a send-off ceremony
in Canarsie, just before
30 COURIER LIFE, APRIL 2-8, 2021
they headed out to deliver upwards
of 300 vaccines to the
homebound that day.
So far, the Vaccine For
All team has already delivered
shots to more than 3,200
homebound New Yorkers. The
team has also reached out to
14,000 seniors eligible for the
program, scheduling appointments
in the weeks ahead for
seniors to receive the life-saving
shot.
“This is absolutely beautiful,
what you’re doing for
people literally in the greatest
need in this whole city,” de
Blasio told team members on
March 30. “They can’t get to
the vaccination. And unless
you were there, they’re going
to be alone. They’re going to
be isolated. They’re going to
be fearful. Their families are
going to be fearful for them.
But then you show up, and you
literally saved the day.”
De Blasio described the
fi rst responders as being heroic
because of their ability to
change someone’s life for the
better.
“You change a life, you save
a life,” the mayor told them.
“You make a whole family feel
peace. So, if not for you, a lot of
folks would feel hopeless right
now. But we’re so glad that our
friends in the media are here
because the whole city is going
to see that just because someone’s
homebound does not
mean they’re forgotten, does
not mean that they’re left out
because you’re coming to the
rescue.”
Nigro said the efforts of the
vaccine team come with the
territory of being one of New
York’s Bravest.
“Our fi refi ghters, EMTs,
paramedics, every day save
EMS units ready to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine to homebound seniors.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
lives. We’re happy to be part
of this program,” he said. “I’m
happy that I have the talented
people around you from our
Incident Management Team
that can put something like
this together and manage it
day-in and day-out for our
great city… It’s because of
their management skills that
we can get this done, and your
skills and your dedication.”
The move to vaccinate
homebound seniors was fi rst
announced in mid-February,
weeks after southern Brooklyn
Councilmember Mark
Treyger and state Sen. Diane
Savino fi rst urged the city
to devise a plan to vaccinate
homebound seniors, arguing
that the vulnerable elders
were getting left behind in
the city’s vaccination effort.
If you or someone you love is
a homebound senior and want
to schedule an appointment to
receive the vaccine, visit vax-
4nyc.nyc.gov or call 877-VAX-
4NYC.
Additional reporting by
Rose Adams
‘You change a life,
you save a life’
EMTs in BK help vaccinate homebound seniors
/4nyc.nyc.gov