WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 21
NYC’s #1 Source for Political & Election News
Mayor off ers updates on schools &
vaccinations during trip to Queens
BY JENNA BAGCAL
JBAGCAL@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@JENNA_BAGCAL
Just ahead of his fi nal 100 days in offi
ce, Mayor Bill de Blasio kicked off
the Queens edition of City Hall in
Your Borough with press conference
on Sept. 20.
Joining the mayor at Queens
Borough Hall was Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards, who welcomed
de Blasio to a week of “culture
and delicacies” in addition to discussing
COVID-19 recovery for the borough
and student safety in the midst of the
pandemic.
“This week, we’ll be talking about
all the next steps in our recovery, new
announcements that are crucial to the
future of Queens and you’ll see the
spirit and the energy of the people at
Queens that are helping the city move
forward,” de Blasio said.
VACCINES
According to statistics from the city,
Queens has 1,555,305 full vaccinated
people, making it the most vaccinated
borough in New York City. The data also
showed that over 1.7 million Queens
residents have received at least one dose
of the vaccine.
“We’ve seen really good numbers
on vaccination in recent days, high
numbers, clearly connected to both the
incentives and the mandates,” de Blasio
said. “As of today, 11,243,542 doses in
New York City have been administered.
The big-picture reality – amazing.
We’re now almost to 81 percent of adults
in New York City who have had a fi rst
dose. We’re almost to 62 percent of New
York City residents fully vaccinated.”
Queens is the most vaccinated
borough with 1,551,921 people fully
vaccinated.
But according to Richards, residents
who live in the Far Rockaway ZIP
code of 11691 continue to have lower
than average vaccination rates, with
approximately 46.89 percent of those
residents being fully vaccinated. While
the numbers increased from 39 percent,
the borough president said that there
is a push for continued vaccinations in
Far Rockaway, while other Rockaway
Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during a press conference. Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Offi ce
ZIP codes have reached a 50 percent
vaccination rate.
The mayor added that booster vaccines
would be coming following the
FDA committee vote that recommended
them to people over 65 years old as well
as to immunocompromised individuals.
He said that there are over 1,900 sites
across the city ready to administer
booster vaccines when the time comes.
“We have a detailed plan to reach
seniors in particular, let them know as
soon as we know the details,” de Blasio
said. “This is a big deal. I think it’s going
to help us move forward in a big way.
Once we know, we’re going to hit the
ground running.”
De Blasio also called on the FDA to
speed up its process in vaccine approval
for children ages 5 to 11 following data
from Pfi zer surrounding that age group.
“We need these by the end of October.
Let’s give a wonderful Halloween gift ,
a treat for all kids. Let’s do something
wonderful, get the vaccine for 5- to
11- year-olds authorized by Halloween,
so we can start providing the vaccine to
kids who need it. This has happening in
real-time and it’s going to make a huge
diff erence for our families,” the mayor
said.
SCHOOLS
The mayor congratulated Schools
Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter on “an
amazing success” during the fi rst week
of school and described the “unbelievable
joy” on the children’s faces aft er
learning at home for a year and a half.
He added that the focus for this new
school year was the health and safety
of the children and school community,
and maximizing the number of children
in school each day to avoid further
disruption.
Beginning on Sept. 27, all elementary,
middle and high schools will undergo
weekly COVID-19 testing and change
the quarantine approach, per the CDC
guidelines.
“When there is a positive test in a
classroom, the unvaccinated students
in that classroom will not have to quarantine
if they are masked and three
feet distant. That will allow more kids
to safely remain in the classroom,” the
mayor said.
Porter shared that when she visited
schools in Queens she saw that students
were wearing their masks and following
social distancing protocols.
“As an educator, there’s nothing more
powerful than seeing your students
take their, and other students’, wellbeing
seriously. And as a parent myself,
it was reassuring to see the health and
safety protocols being followed,” said
Porter, adding that changes would be
made “along the way as needed.”
She encouraged all those who have
not gotten a vaccine to do so, and
reminded parents to submit testing
consent for their children either online
on the NYCSA website or by submitting
a hard copy to the school.
The mayor also announced that 1,081
city-funded aft erschool programs —
with over 200 programs in Queens
— would reopen at schools and community
centers.
“The goal is to reach 150,000 kids
this school year with those extended
hours,” de Blasio said. “Our aft erschool
programs are amazing because they
involve academic enrichment in addition
to arts, culture, recreation, you
name it.”
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