Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday unveiled a three-point plan to inoculate the city’s homebound seniors. Photo by Dean Moses
HOME DELIVERY!
Mayor Bill de Blasio unveils plan to vaccinate homebound seniors
COURIER LIFE, FEBRUARY 19-25, 2021 19
BY ROSE ADAMS
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
on Feb. 12 a three-part
plan to protect homebound seniors
from COVID-19 — including
setting up vaccine clinics
around the Five Boroughs specifi
cally designated for the elderly,
inoculating home health
aides, and taking steps toward
bringing the vaccine into the
homes of older New Yorkers
next month.
“We are moving heaven and
earth to get our senior neighbors
vaccinated,” Hizzoner said
at a press conference in Sheepshead
Bay. “We have to do this
urgently. We cannot leave any
of our seniors behind, and
our homebound seniors are
amongst the most vulnerable
people in New York City — so,
it’s gonna be harder to reach
them, but we will reach them.”
With the arrival of the Johnson
& Johnson vaccine — which
requires only one dose — sometime
in March, the city will organize
an effort for healthcare
workers to travel to the homes
of seniors who are unable to
leave due to physical ailments.
“One shot only, that will be
a blessing,” de Blasio said.
Until then, de Blasio said
that medical personnel who
care for homebound seniors
will be given priority at cityrun
vaccine clinics, which will
help ensure that they do not
bring the virus into vulnerable
New Yorkers’ homes.
“To protect seniors who
have to stay at home over the
course of a month, we will
vaccinate 25,000 home health
aides who are the lifeline for
our homebound seniors,” the
mayor said.
On top of those plans, the
city will also establish dedicated
clinics at retirement
communities and senior living
facilities around the city
— starting on Feb. 15 with the
Warbasse Cares Program facility
in Brighton Beach, and
the Morningside Retirement
& Health Services complex in
Manhattan.
“We’ll reach them right
there,” de Blasio said. “These
will be the beginning of a much
bigger effort to reach homebound
seniors in their own
buildings.”
Over the coming weeks, the
city will work to identify more
sites where large elderly populations
live.
The announcement comes
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 vaccine effort.
“Here we are, facing a global
pandemic, with thousands of
New Yorkers who have lost
their lives,” said Treyger, who
represents Coney Island, Bensonhurst,
and Gravesend, in
late January. “We still don’t
have a comprehensive and cohesive
plan to vaccinate homebound
seniors or even an adequate
plan to vaccinate seniors
in general.”
Now, the new plan aims to
reduce the hurdles for seniors
— who are among the most vulnerable
to hospitalization and
death from the virus.
“Vaccinating vulnerable seniors
is a key component of our
city’s recovery effort and equity
plans,” said Deputy Mayor
for Health and Human Services
Melanie Harztog. “From opening
dedicated vaccine sites for
older adults to developing plans
to deliver the Johnson & Johnson
vaccine directly to them at
home, these creative strategies
will help ensure we reach and
protect New York City residents
most at risk.”
The city has not yet developed
an appointment system for homebound
seniors in need of receiving
the vaccine at their homes,
which will begin in March. Home
healthcare aides and elderly New
Yorkers who are able to travel
can head to vaccinefi nder.nyc.
gov or call 1-877-VAX-4NYC.
Health