2 FEBRUARY 4, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Councilman Robert Holden seeks better vaccine rollout for seniors after
his mother Anne caught COVID-19 at her nursing home.
Photo courtesy of Holden’s offi ce
Councilman Holden
calls for improved
communication
regarding vaccine
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
A Queens councilman is calling
for better communication
between the city, state and
senior facilities aft er claiming his
mother was denied a vaccine inoculation
at a Middle Village rehabilitation
facility.
Councilman Robert Holden has
criticized New York’s handling
of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out,
pointing to the lack of supply, a
plethora of scheduling programs and
miscommunication.
Holden said his 96-year-old mother
Anne tested positive for COVID-19 after
she was denied a vaccine inoculation
at Dry Harbor Nursing Home in
Middle Village late last year.
“My mother wasn’t permitted to
have the vaccine when it was being
distributed at Dry Harbor Nursing
Home before Christmas, supposedly
because of New York State policy that
I’ve found out did not even exist,”
Holden said. “I was told she couldn’t
have it because she was a short-term
resident. The virus doesn’t care if a
senior in a nursing home is a shortterm
or long-term resident.”
As his mother recovers, Holden is
looking at the larger problem of the
COVID-19 vaccine’s rollout.
“This isn’t just about my mother,
it’s about all seniors like my mother,
who need the vaccine as quickly as
possible, no matter where they live,”
Holden said. “Blaming it on supply
doesn’t cut it because they had plenty
of supply weeks ago, but no coherent
plan to distribute it. And there will
be supply again soon, but there’s still
no plan.The current system of making
appointments is diffi cult to use,
especially for seniors.”
Holden represents District 30
which includes the neighborhoods
of Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village,
Ridgewood, and parts of Woodside
and Woodhaven.
“There is a very large population of
seniors living in my district, yet we
have no vaccination sites,” Holden
said. “Twenty-nine other council
members have signed on to my letter
to the Mayor asking the city to plan to
use our senior centers as vaccination
hubs. It makes sense because the centers
are an existing lifeline for many
seniors, for information and social
interaction.”
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