Queens neighborhoods impacted most by
COVID-19 to get increased vaccine sites
BY BILL PARRY
The city is vowing to increase
its COVID-19 vaccination
efforts in a number of
Queens neighborhoods after
demographic data showed that
Black and Latino residents
are receiving inoculations at
much lower rates compared to
their overall percentage of the
population.
“Lives are on the line and
we must ensure we do everything
humanly possible to
address these disparities and
find solutions,” Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards
said. “Every Queens resident,
from our elected leaders
and public health officials to
each of us in our capacity as
loved ones, friends and neighbors,
have a critical role to
play in saving lives and building
our borough back better
than ever.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
a new task force that
will broaden its outreach and
education to address vaccine
hesitancy, prioritize appointments
and add vaccine distribution
sites in South Ozone
Park, Richmond Hill, Jamaica,
Elmhurst, Corona, Rockaway,
Jackson Heights, Kew Gardens
and other neighborhoods
where the vaccination efforts
have been inconsistent.
Statistics showed that out
of more than 800,000 total
doses administered citywide,
approximately 48 percent have
been administered to white
residents, while while people
only make up about a third of
city residents. Meanwhile, just
15 percent of vaccine recipients
have been Latino and 11
percent Black, despite Latino
and Black residents accounting
for 29 percent and 25 percent
of the city’s population,
respectively.
“We understand that overcoming
historical mistrust of
scientific and medical institutions
on the part of communities
of color is not an easy goal
to achieve, but the deep disparities
revealed in the city’s
COVID-19 vaccination database
are not just unacceptable
— they are potentially fatal,”
Richards said. “To guarantee
an equitable recovery and rebuild
from this pandemic for
New data on the city’s rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine show stark racial disparities in the distribution effort. Photo by Dean Moses
our historically underserved
communities, it is imperative
that we involve each and every
trusted community-based
organization in a truly allhands
on-deck vaccination effort.
That includes community
vaccination hubs in neighborhoods
of color hardest hit by
COVID-19, tireless multilingual
grassroots outreach campaigns,
and so much more.”
Days before the disparity
data was revealed, southeast
Queens Councilman I. Daneek
Miller introduced a resolution
in response to concerns about
vaccine distribution and racial
equity.
“For those who did not hear
us before, we’ll say it louder
this time: We must ensure that
communities of color, frontline
workers, and those that
put themselves on the line
during this deadly pandemic
have equitable access to the
COVID-19 vaccine,” Miller
said. “That means creating a
more transparent and equitable
vaccination process which
is what we’re calling for. We
know which communities lack
access to health care, we saw
TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM | FEB. 5-FEB. 11, 2021
how testing was rolled out in
2020 and, once data related to
COVID-19 was made public
last year, the world understood
the devastation this virus
had inflicted in communities
of color. We will not allow
Blacks, Latinos and Asians to
be left behind again, and we
will do all we can to make sure
the deliveries of the vaccine
are equitable.”
Southeast Queens Councilwoman
Adrienne Adams,
the co-chair of the Council’s
Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus
(BLAC), is a co-sponsor of
the bill.
“It is imperative that we
ensure equity is built into
COVID-19 vaccination distribution
to save lives,” Adams
said. “Widespread distribution
of the COVID-19 vaccine, especially
to the communities that
are most impacted, will be a
critical element in containing
the pandemic and resuming
normal economic, social and
educational activities.”
Councilman Francisco
Moya, who represents
Elmhurst and Corona, where
he is a lifelong resident and
currently represents, pledged
his support for Miller’s resolution.
“We cannot combat this
pandemic if we are not truly
prioritizing the communities
most impacted by COVID-19,”
Moya said. “These are Latino,
Black and immigrant communities,
families in multigenerational
homes, seniors
most at risk, and the workers
that kept our city running. We
need more expeditious, equitable
and accessible rollout of
the vaccine to protect the communities
that have suffered
the worst of this crisis. Our
families are counting on us
to act fast and responsibly to
stop new infections and hospitalizations.
With the one-year
anniversary of the COVID-19
pandemic and new variants of
the virus emerging in the U.S.,
we are in a race against the
clock to save lives.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by
e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4538.
We must ensure that
communities of color, frontline
workers, and those that put
themselves on the line during
this deadly pandemic have
equitable access to the
COVID-19 vaccine.
Councilman I. Daneek Miller
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