The city reported that more than 600,000 New Yorkers have received COVID-19 booster shots as of Nov. 15, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar
COURIER LIFE, NOVEMBER 19-25, 2021 25
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
New York’s battle against
COVID-19 continues to get a
boost, one vaccinated arm at
a time.
Over 620,000 previously
vaccinated New Yorkers have
received booster shots since
the federal government authorized
them in September,
city offi cials reported Monday.
While the ongoing effort
to vaccinate all New Yorkers
continues, city Health Commissioner
Dr. Dave Chokshi
said getting booster shots is
critical toward helping the
city stem off a severe “winter
wave” of COVID-19 infections.
“Although hospitalizations
remained low right now,
we are seeing an uptick in
cases in recent days,” Chokshi
said during Mayor Bill de
Blasio’s Nov. 15 briefi ng. “We
have anticipated that this
might occur as the weather
gets cooler and people spend
more time indoors. But compared
to this time last year,
we have many more tools to
fi ght COVID-19 and work to
keep a winter wave at bay.”
So far, more than 6 million
New Yorkers, including
those who’ve received booster
shots, have had at least one
dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
While vaccination doesn’t
guarantee a person won’t be
infected with COVID-19, the
inoculation does boost the
body’s immune system to
help ward off severe, even fatal,
infection.
City health offi cials have
credited vaccinations for
helping to keep the hospitalization
rates low this summer
even as the highly-contagious
Delta variant began
making its way through the
Five Boroughs; more than
97% of all COVID-19 hospitalizations
involve unvaccinated
individuals, according
to city Health Department
data.
Chokshi later issued a
commissioner’s advisory to
all health care providers in
the Five Boroughs urging
them to follow guidance on
COVID-19 booster shots and
advise patients who may be
most susceptible to COVID-19
to get vaccinated if they
haven’t yet received a shot,
or get a booster if they’re already
inoculated against the
virus.
“In my own conversations
with patients and family
members, I know that booster
doses can provide one more
layer of reassurance, allowing
us to breathe a bit easier
either for ourselves or our
loved ones, particularly as
we gather and travel around
the holidays,” he said.
Doctors are also successfully
using monoclonal antibody
treatments to help
COVID-19 patients at risk of
severe infection.
Chokshi stated that continued
use of masks within
indoor settings, along with
increased ventilation, hand
hygiene, and remaining
home when symptomatic will
further help slow the spread
of COVID-19.
Health
Brooklyn’s getting boosted!
More than 600,000 vaccinated New Yorkers rolled up sleeves for boosters