“Our hard work to bring down the numbers
during the winter surge is paying off, but we
are not through this yet.
COURIER LIFE, JAN. 28-FEB. 3, 2022 3
jabs began on Jan. 17, New
York recorded 144 cases per
100,000 vaccinated residents
each week, compared with
810 cases per 100,000 unvaccinated
people — showing that
people without the jab were
5.625 times more likely to
catch the virus (though many
“breakthrough” cases are
asymptomatic, meaning the
data may be skewed).
Per 100,000 residents on a
weekly basis, just 4.48 people
were hospitalized for COVID
after receiving the shot, compared
with 31.23 people who
did not — meaning the unvaccinated
have been 6.97 times
more likely to go to the hospital
for COVID-related illness
since Jan. 17.
Death is also signifi cantly
more likely for the non-inoculated,
as 0.69 people out of
100,000 die each week from
COVID after getting the
jab, compared with 3.64 out
100,000 who did not get the
shot — effectively making
the unvaccinated 5.28 times
more likely to die from COVID
19 since the vaccine rollout
began.
Pols and pleas
Mayor Eric Adams, at a
press conference on Jan. 18,
pleaded with Big Apple residents
to get the vaccine, hailing
the jabs as a the key to returning
to normalcy.
“I’m going to say it over
and over again, to be vaccinated
and boosted,” Adams
said. “Because when you’re
getting vaccinated, it will allow
us to keep our city moving
forward, it will allow us
to do the things we want to
do.”
Meanwhile, Gov. Kathy
Hochul, citing recent declines
in cases, urged New
York State residents to remain
vigilant to avoid another
spike.
“Our hard work to bring
down the numbers during the
winter surge is paying off,
but we are not through this
yet,” said Hochul. “Let’s keep
using the tools — the vaccine,
booster and masks – that will
help slow the spread of this
virus, protect our families,
and keep our schools and
businesses open.”
For his part, President Joe
Biden, who recently deployed
military personnel to assist
with overfl ows at Coney Island
Hospital, praised local
governments for their work
deploying the life-saving
shots at “U.S. Conference of
Mayors” of Jan. 21.
“In the battle against the
deadly virus, we’ve gone
from putting 2 million shots
— vaccinations in people’s
arms — to 210 million Americans
fully vaccinated,” the
commander in chief said.
“And you mayors have been
critical partners — I’m not
trying to be nice to you, it’s
just a fact. You’ve been critical
partners in that fi ght
from day one, from masking,
to testing, to vaccinations.”
A health care worker holds a vial of the COVID-19 vaccine (above), and a map shows the different ZIP codes in
Brooklyn where COVID-19 cases are higher and lower (below). REUTERS/Dado Ruvic