FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM OCTOBER 21, 2021 • HEALTH • THE QUEENS COURIER 33
health
Mayor raises toast to New Yorkers who got at least fi rst dose of COVID-19 vaccine
BY JULIA MORO
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
last week that 6 million New Yorkers
have received at least one dose of the
COVID-19 vaccine.
The mayor credited this milestone to
his incentive programs and mandates.
Last month, de Blasio enforced the
Key to NYC program, which requires
people have at least one dose of the
COVID-19 vaccine to enter any indoor
business. Since this program went into
effect, vaccine rates have increased by
9%.
“This is a staggering figure. This is
how we’re coming back,” de Blasio said.
“When you look around the country,
you see other places that are struggling,
and I feel horrible for them, but in a lot
of cases, it’s because their leaders didn’t
do the right thing and didn’t focus on
vaccination. Here, together, we did.”
De Blasio said there are only about a
million adults left to be vaccinated.
“The incentives, the mandates, everything’s
QPL wellness tour off ers information on good health and self-care
BY KAYLA WONG
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
For the Queens Public Library’s
(QPL) fi rst-ever Wellness Tour, their
Mobile Library is hitting the roads of the
Rockaways and southeast Queens to provide
local residents with free access to
information and resources about good
health and self-care amid the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic — with a focus on
Queens neighborhoods where vaccination
rates remain low.
QPL’s bookmobile program takes library
service to the streets, bringing books and
activities to all neighborhoods across the
borough. Th e Mobile Library stops at
everything from community events to
senior care homes.
“We know that Queens Public Library
is a trusted community organization that
provides information, and so we wanted
to really get information out about vaccinations
to the community,” said Kim
McNeil-Capers, QPL’s director of community
engagement.
Th e tour, which began in late September,
offi cially kicked off on Wednesday, Oct.
13, during an event organized in partnership
with the Rockaway Initiative for
Sustainability and Equity (RISE), a nonprofi
t serving the Rockaway community.
RISE will be distributing information on
the COVID-19 vaccination as part of its
VAX UP! Campaign. Th e event was held
at the Beach 60th St.-Straiton Ave. A train
stop in Arverne from 2 to 5 p.m.
QPL President and CEO Dennis M.
Walcott welcomed members of the public,
and the QPL Outreach Team and a
QPL medical librarian was aboard the
bus to answer customers’ questions and
guide them through a special collection
of books and other materials to help them
stay well or get well.
Customers will be able to sign up for a
library card, return borrowed items, use
the Mobile Library’s WiFi and listen to
live classical music performed by violinist
Brian L. Th ompson from the activist
orchestra Th e Dream Unfi nished.
Th e tour is part of QPL’s work to help
Queens residents cope with various health
issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Th roughout the fall, each Wednesday
aft ernoon until Nov. 17, QPL Mobile
Library will make stops in Queens neighborhoods
where vaccination rates remain
low, including Far Rockaway, Rockaway
Park, Cambria Heights, Queens Village,
Howard Beach and Jamaica, among others.
Stops on the tour include parks, laundromats,
transportation hubs and other
locations where foot traffi c is high.
“Most importantly, it’s about being
immersed in the community where people
are, which is why we’re near laundromats,
parks and beaches, subway hubs
and train stations,” McNeil-Capers said.
“Th e goal is to reach folks who don’t normally
go to the library and get them correct
information about vaccines and wellness.”
While this Wellness Tour is focused primarily
on providing facts and information
about vaccines, there are other important
initiatives the library will incorporate and
promote.
At each stop, QPL will be distributing
giveaways, bookmarks with facts about
COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination
locations, as well as information about the
Go Vote campaign and the Say Goodbye
to Late Fines policy. Th e Go Vote campaign
encourages people to participate in
the upcoming elections, and Say Goodbye
to Late Fines eliminates all late fi nes to
make the library’s resources accessible to
everyone regardless of their circumstance.
“I think QPL just felt compelled to
do more, and to do more, we needed to
step outside of the physical space and step
into the community,” McNeil-Capers said.
“Not everyone is going to the library and
so sometimes we have to go to them.”
working,” de Blasio said. “We’re
going to keep moving on that number.
We got more work to do, but we can
get there.”
De Blasio also mentioned he will not
be enforcing a vaccine mandate for
children ages 5 to 11 as the FDA moves
forward on approval.
“Our priority is having
kids in school,” de
Blasio said.
“We’re not
going to
e x c l u d e
a child,
b e c a u s e
a lot went a
year and a half
without being
in a classroom.
We’re
n o t
excluding them based on the
decisions their parents made — we
need them in school.”
The hospitalization
rate is at 0.69%.
There are 957
newly reported
cases on the seven
day average.
As de Blasio touted the new data
points, he mentioned the return of
the 14th annual NYC Wine and Food
Festival.
The festival featured intimate dinners,
walk-around tastings, and over
80 events including parties and master
classes. The festival ended Sunday,
Oct. 17.
The four-day event showcased the
world’s most renowned wine and spirits
producers and world-famous chefs
while donating all proceeds to support
New Yorkers struggling with severe illness
and food insecurity through God’s
Love We Deliver and Food Bank For
New York City.
Throughout the years, this festival
has raised over $14 million to help New
Yorkers in need.
Rocco DiSpirito, an award-winning
chef and participant in the event,
said that 45,000 people were expected
to join the Wine and Food Festival.
DiSpirito thanked de Blasio for all the
work he put into getting the city ready
to hold this event safely.
“There’s a lot of hard work to do but
there’s a lot of optimism in the food
community,” DiSpirito said.
Photo courtesy of NYC Mayoral Photography Unit
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Oct. 14 that more than 6 million New York City residents had
received the COVID-19 vaccine.
Photo courtesy of QPL
Queens Public Library’s Mobile Library recently made stops in Rosedale and Rockaway Beach.
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link
