By Morgan C. Mullings
On Dec. 30, days before his
inauguration, now-Mayor Eric
Adams held his first COVID
briefing, with a setup and plan
somewhat similar to Bill de
Blasio’s.
Adams will be continuing
much of the protocol established
by the outgoing mayor
to combat the winter surge of
the COVID-19 virus. There are
many concerns about the omicron
variant, including its possible
severity and how it could
increase the number of hospitalizations.
As of Dec. 29, there were
32,800 cases in New York City,
and 100 deaths.
“So the day has come when
we must learn to be smarter,
live with COVID and ensure
that we protect everyday New
Yorkers and that is what I’m
going to do,” Adams said.
The plan has six parts: vaccinations,
hospital and congregate
care, testing, treating,
slowing the spread and safer
schools.
As for vaccine mandates,
the administration is considering
Caribbean L 22 ife, January 7-13, 2022
extending Bill de Blasio’s
mandate to include the booster
shot. Commissioner of Health
and Mental Hygiene Dave
Chokshi joined Adams, along
with his future replacement,
Dr. Ashwin Vasan, to talk about
keeping science at the center of
the decision.
The potential “up to date”
mandate, Chokshi said, “ would
require New Yorkers to have
their booster shots under the
vaccine mandates currently in
place. Studying it encompasses
both following the emerging
science on the importance of
booster doses with Omicron
as well as understanding the
impact of the mandate on the
settings it would apply to by
engaging with unions, the
business community and other
partners.”
Along that same line, they
will make a final decision in
Spring 2022 about a vaccine
mandate for schools.
To prepare for the return to
classes on Jan. 3, the Adams
administration will follow
state guidelines and double
their surveillance testing,
while making sure that millions
of rapid at-home tests
are sent home with students
and teachers. Vasan said they
would be providing tests “especially
those who may have been
recently exposed to a positive
case.”
Over in the private sector,
the mandates will stay. Adams
emphasized that he does not
want to enforce with punitive
measures. “We’re going to go
to those sites with people are
openly failing to comply and
make sure our city services are
utilized to ensure compliance.
But the goal is not to be punitive.
The goal is to get our city
up and operated,” he said.
Adams also debuted his first
deputy mayor, Lorraine Grillo,
and deputy mayor of health
and human services, Anne
Williams-Isom, to show how
they’ll be involved in COVID
protocol.
“It’ll be my role starting Saturday
to make sure that all of
our agencies and departments
are working hand in hand to
defeat COVID-19. Under Mayor
Adams’ leadership and with
the guidance of doctor Chokshi
and the Vasan, we will target
resources and personnel to
drive up our vaccination rates
even higher while providing
more testing to keep our city
open,” Grillo said.
Williams-Isom added that it
is important to sign up for
health coverage and monitor
mental health as the pandemic
continues. “The simple things
that we forget sometimes eat
healthy, get exercise, moderate
exercise, go for a walk; it
will help not only your physical
health but it will help your
mental health,” she said.
Adams continues to stay
away from lockdown talk, and
stresses that keeping businesses
and schools open is safer for
the economy. “With this plan
that we are announcing today
we will prepare ourselves to get
through the winter surge and
get back to living our lives,”
he said.
‘Learn to live with COVID’
Adams unveils plan to combat spread
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