22 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • JANUARY 14, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Protect nabes previously at ‘epicenter of the epicenter’ of COVID-19: Moya
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Councilman Francisco Moya is urging
the Corona community not to let their
guard down as COVID-19 infection rates
continue to rise in the area that was the
“epicenter of the epicenter”of the virus
last year.
Moya, who represents Council District
21, encompassing the Queens neighborhoods
of East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights,
LeFrak City and Corona, hosted an aft ernoon
of COVID testing in partnership
with NYC Health + Hospitals on Tuesday,
Jan. 5 at Corona Plaza.
A table at the event also had several
people with community organizations
who helped distribute COVID information
in various languages as well as personal
protective equipment.
“Th is is a highly immigrant community,
and for us, the responsibility is to
ensure that we don’t make the same mistakes
of the past,” the councilman said.
“When the pandemic hit, no one knew
what to do. Th e translations weren’t there.
We’ve learned our lessons. We can’t let our
guard down.”
But some of the neighborhoods are
seeing rising numbers of positive tests,
with Corona (11368) at 12 percent,
East Elmhurst (11369) at 11 percent,
Jackson Heights (11372) at 6 percent, and
Elmhurst (11373) at 11 percent in the
beginning of the week, according to the
city’s data.
A mobile testing site by the Park of the
Americas was also available, where the
line to receive testing was around the
block since the morning. Th e site was
scheduled to be stationed there all week
from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., for the third week
in a row.
Moya, who also got tested at the mobile
site on Tuesday, said it’s a “good sign” that
the lines are long for the relatively quick
test.
“It means we are getting our message
out and that people are doing their part,”
he said.
But Moya wants to see more action
from the city to prioritize the communities
that were impacted
the most at the
height of the pandemic.
“It is so critical that
we involve all the relevant
agencies right
here to this community.
We need to
have more permanent
solution. I can’t keep
picking up a phone
and begging to get a
mobile testing van, in
particular when this
is the hot spot,” Moya
said. “We know that this is an area in
which the numbers have increased. Th is
was the epicenter. Th ey need to come and
walk the streets here with me and look at
what exactly is happening again. When
businesses are suff ering, when the essential
workers aren’t getting relative access to
the vaccine, when the community needs
resources like masks and hand sanitizers.
But more importantly, access to testing.
Th e basic of things. It should be permanently
placed here. And we can’t rely
on the hospital because it will be overrun.”
For information on nearest testing locations
and mobile testing, visit the city’s
COVID-19 Information Portal.
City Councilman Francisco Moya is tested for COVID-19 at the mobile
testing unit in Corona.
Northwell Health’s urgent care facilities begin COVID-19 vaccinations
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Th e pressure is mounting for city and
state offi cials to enact a more effi cient rollout
of the COVID-19 vaccine, as the U.S.
had a staggering 22 million Americans
infected with the virus as of Jan. 11.
Healthcare provider Northwell Health
became the fi rst urgent care network
in the nation approved to receive and
administer the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
at its over 150 GoHealth facilities.
Aft er receiving its initial allocation, the
New York urgent care network began vaccinating
team members on the front line
last week.
Dr. Zipkin, chief medical offi cer for
Northwell Health GoHealth Urgent Care,
waited a week to receive the vaccine
because he wanted to give priority to his
colleagues at greater risk of exposure to
the virus.
“On one hand, I want to show everyone
that I’m getting the shot early. On the
other, I’m not as clinical as the people who
are doing this day in and day out,” Zipkin
said on Monday, Jan. 11. “I didn’t want to
cut the line. Leading by example means
that you are not getting extra privilege.
But now I’m going to roll up my sleeve
and get this done.”
GoHealth team member Latoya had
already received the vaccine and enthusiastically
confi rmed that she felt great
before she administered the shots to Dr.
Zipkin and their colleague Gerosimos
Kapatos, the marketing coordinator
for Northwell Health, on Monday at
Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care
in Forest Hills.
Following the CDC’s recommendations,
GoHealth pre-screens patients and monitors
them for 15 minutes aft er administering
the vaccine. Dr. Zipkin emphasized
that patients who receive the Moderna
vaccine need to tell their health care
provider of any known allergies or
pre-existing conditions so that health
professionals can take extra precautionary
measures.
Th e Moderna vaccine provides
the same protective technology as
the Pfi zer vaccine, and both have
similar effi cacy levels of around
95 percent. Like the Pfi zer vaccine,
Moderna’s inoculation requires two
shots. However, the interval between the
Moderna vaccine is 28 days, while the
timeframe between Pfi zer’s doses is 21
days. And while the Pfi zer vials contain
fi ve doses and have a refrigerated shelf
life of four to fi ve days, the Moderna vials
contain 10 doses and have a refrigerated
shelf life of 30 days.
Zipkin urged people to get vaccinated.
“If you are tired of missing family or
friends, if you are tired of not being able
to go to your favorite restaurant or bar or
the movie, this vaccine is for you. If you
want to end the pandemic, this vaccine is
for you,” Zipkin said.
Addressing those who are ambivalent
about the vaccine’s safety, he pointed out
that the fi rst vaccine was administered six
Photos by Gabriele Holtermann
months ago and has since been given to
over 5 million patients.
“For all the people who are in the
‘wait-and-see’ category, I’ll tell you, half
a year and 5 million people are certainly
enough,” he said.“We have given up a lot.
I think this is our opportunity to end the
pandemic and get back to socializing, to
get back to our normal lives, to get back
to all the things that we were doing before
this all started.”
Photos by Gabriele Holtermann
/WWW.QNS.COM
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