FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM FEBRUARY 4, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Queens neighborhoods to get additional vaccine sites
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e city is vowing to increase its
COVID-19 vaccination eff orts in a number
of Queens neighborhoods aft er demographic
data showed that Black and Latino
residents are receiving inoculations at
much lower rates compared to their overall
percentage of the population.
“Lives are on the line and we must
ensure we do everything humanly possible
to address these disparities and fi nd
solutions,” Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards said. “Every Queens
resident, from our elected leaders and
public health offi cials to each of us in our
capacity as loved ones, friends and neighbors,
have a critical role to play in saving
lives and building our borough back better
than ever.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new
task force that will broaden its outreach
and education to address vaccine hesitancy,
prioritize appointments and add vaccine
distribution sites in South Ozone
Park, Richmond Hill, Jamaica, Elmhurst,
Corona, Rockaway, Jackson Heights, Kew
Gardens and other neighborhoods where
the vaccination eff orts have been inconsistent.
Statistics showed that out of more than
800,000 total doses administered citywide,
approximately 48 percent have been
administered to white residents, while
while people only make up about a third
of city residents. Meanwhile, just 15 percent
of vaccine recipients have been Latino
and 11 percent Black, despite Latino and
Black residents accounting for 29 percent
and 25 percent of the city’s population,
respectively.
“We understand that overcoming historical
mistrust of scientifi
c and medical
institutions on the
part of communities
of color is not
an easy goal to
achieve, but the
deep disparities
revealed in the city’s
COVID-19 vaccination
database are not
just unacceptable —
they are potentially
fatal,” Richards said.
“To guarantee an equitable
recovery
and rebuild from this pandemic for our
historically underserved communities, it
is imperative that we involve each and
every trusted community-based organization
in a truly all-hands-on-deck vaccination
eff ort. Th at includes community vaccination
hubs in neighborhoods of color
hardest hit by COVID-19, tireless multilingual
grassroots outreach campaigns,
and so much more.”
Days before the disparity data
was revealed, southeast Queens
Councilman I. Daneek Miller introduced
a resolution in response to
concerns about vaccine distribution
and racial equity.
“For those who did not hear us
before, we’ll say it louder this time:
We must ensure that communities
of color, frontline workers, and
those that put themselves
on the
line during
this deadly pandemic have equitable
access to the COVID-19 vaccine,” Miller
said. “Th at means creating a more transparent
and equitable vaccination process
which is what we’re calling for. We know
which communities lack access to health
care, we saw how testing was rolled out
in 2020 and, once data related to COVID-
19 was made public last year, the world
understood the devastation this virus had
infl icted in communities of color. We will
not allow Blacks, Latinos and Asians to be
left behind again, and we will do all we can
to make sure the deliveries of the vaccine
are equitable.”
Southeast Queens Councilwoman
Adrienne Adams, the co-chair of the
Council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus
(BLAC), is a co-sponsor of the bill.
“It is imperative that we ensure equity
is built into COVID-19 vaccination
distribution to save lives,” Adams said.
“Widespread distribution of the COVID-
19 vaccine, especially to the communities
that are most impacted, will be a critical
element in containing the pandemic and
resuming normal economic, social and
educational activities.”
Councilman Francisco Moya, who represents
Elmhurst and Corona, where he
is a lifelong resident and currently represents,
pledged his support for Miller’s resolution.
“We cannot combat this pandemic if we
are not truly prioritizing the communities
most impacted by COVID-19,” Moya
said. “Th ese are Latino, Black and immigrant
communities, families in multigenerational
homes, seniors most at risk,
and the workers that kept our city running.
We need more expeditious, equitable
and accessible rollout of the vaccine
to protect the communities that have suffered
the worst of this crisis. Our families
are counting on us to act fast and responsibly
to stop new infections and hospitalizations.
With the one-year anniversary
of the COVID-19 pandemic and new
variants of the virus emerging in the U.S.,
we are in a race against the clock to save
lives.”
Child injured in three-alarm Rockaway Beach inferno
Photo by LLoyd Mitchell
Firefi ghters respond to a fi re on Beach 86th Street.
File photo by Dean Moses
New data on the city’s rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine shows stark racial disparities in the
distribution eff ort.
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
A young child was critically injured during a threealarm
inferno at a Rockaway Beach home on Saturday
morning, according to authorities.
Th e Fire Department said the blaze broke out at
about 10:28 a.m. on Jan. 30 inside a two-story home
along Beach 86th Street near Rockaway Freeway in
Rockaway Beach.
According to the FDNY, the fl ames apparently emanated
in the basement of the dwelling before spreading.
Th irty-three FDNY units and 138 fi refi ghters
responded to the incident, battling the fl ames and frigid
conditions.
Firefi ghters found the child inside the burning home
and rushed her out. Th e unidentifi ed youngster was
brought by paramedics to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital
in critical condition.
“Please God, let the child make it,” said one horrifi ed
onlooker, Ebony Cruz, at the scene.
Th ree other residents inside the home were also
brought to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital for treatment
of injuries.
Th e blaze was brought under control at about 12:09
p.m. Saturday. No cause was immediately determined;
the Fire Department Marshals are investigating.
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