An emergency worker receives the vaccine. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
City to temporarily
close vaccine hubs
amid shortages
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
A delay in the Moderna
vaccine shipment will force
the city’s 15 vaccination
hubs to close for several
days, Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced on Wednesday.
The 15 city-run COVID-19
vaccination sites will close
from Thursday, Jan. 21
through Sunday, Jan. 24,
because of the delayed shipment,
COURIER LIFE, JANUARY 22-28, 2021 5
Hizzoner said.
The roughly 23,000 appointments
scheduled in
that time will be moved to
exactly one week from their
original time. Residents
cannot make a new appointment
at the centers until
the vaccine supply is stable.
The announcement is
one day after de Blasio
warned that the city’s vaccines
would run out by Friday
because of the expected
delay. The shipment, which
carried 104,000 doses, was
supposed to arrive on Tuesday,
but won’t arrive until
Wednesday or Thursday because
of a holdup from Moderna’s
distributor, de Blasio
explained.
“We already were feeling
the stress of a shortage
of vaccine,” de Blasio said
in his Wednesday press
conference. “Now, the situation
has been made even
worse.”
The news comes as city
health offi cials recorded
37,871 likely or confi rmed
cases, along with 362 deaths
from the virus over the
7-day span that ended on
Jan. 19. The Department
of Health also reported a
4-week average of a 8.82 percent
positive test rate.
The slowdown in vaccinations
hits just as the city
was hastening its inoculation
effort. Nearly half a
million New Yorkers have
received their fi rst dose
of either the Moderna or
Pfi zer vaccine, and nearly
40,000 vaccine doses administered
in a 24-hour period
on Tuesday.
De Blasio set a goal of
administering one million
doses by the end of the
month, and called on the
federal government to help
him meet his goal by making
good on President Joe
Biden’s pledge to release
federal vaccine reserves
currently being held for
booster shots.
Both of the FDA-approved
COVID-19 vaccines
from Moderna and Pfi zer
have about a 95 percent effi
cacy rate in protecting
recipients from contracting
the virus. But, both vaccines
require that patients
receive two shots three to
four weeks apart in order
to be inoculated. Still, one
dose provides some benefi
ts, Hizzoner explained.
“Even the first dose
provides around 50 percent
of protection from
the coronavirus,” said de
Blasio. “If you are a senior
citizen, if you are someone
who is vulnerable,
even that first dose means
a whole lot to you.”
A PARTNER’
Biden’s inauguration
The scene outside the Capitol Building during the inauguration ceremony. REUTERS
constitutional raids on our
courthouses and draconian
changes to public charge and
asylum eligibility, among so
many other hate-fi lled policies,”
said Hasan Shafi qullah,
attorney-in-charge of the Immigration
Law Unit at the Legal
Aid Society.
Biden’s inauguration comes
as the coronavirus pandemic
continues its grip on the country,
with over 400,000 dead
from the disease, millions out
of work, and hundreds of thousands
of small businesses shut
down.
Brooklyn representatives
said they hope the Biden administration
will supercharge
the country’s recovery after
months of President Trump
seemingly losing interest in
the virus as cases and deaths
surged and the economy faltered.
“House Democrats are excited
and looking forward to
continuing our work with President
Biden and Vice President
Harris to build back better for
the people and make life better
for everyday Americans,”
said central Brooklyn representative
Hakeem Jeffries.
“Together, we will crush the
virus, provide direct relief to
everyday Americans who are
struggling, and supercharge
our economy so that we can
create prosperity in every single
zip code.”
Brooklyn Congresswoman
Nydia Velazquez sent her
prayers to the new president,
and urged quick action on a
host of legislative issues.
“On behalf of New York’s
7th District, I’m here and ready
to usher in a new era where we
move this country forward,”
she said. “There is so much to
do, let’s celebrate today and get
to work.”
The city’s lone Republican
Congress member, southern
Brooklyn Rep. Nicole Malliotakis,
who earlier this month
voted to object Arizona’s and
Pennsylvania’s electoral votes,
wished the nation’s 46th president
well on social media.
“As a proud American who
loves this country, I only want
to see her succeed and prosper.
I wish President Biden well and
hope he is successful in doing
good,” she wrote on Twitter.
In his inaugural address,
Biden vowed to work for all
Americans — whether they
voted for him or not — and to
work to bridge gaps that have
divided the country in previous
years.
“To overcome these challenges
to restore the soul and
secure the future of America
requires so much more than
words. It requires the most elusive
of all things in a democracy:
unity,” he said. “We must
end this uncivil war that pits
red against blue, rural versus
urban, conservative versus
liberal. We can do this — if
we open our souls instead of
hardening our hearts.”
Vice President Kamala Harris. REUTERS