COVID-19 vaccine applicants gathered across the city and state to hit Washington Heights on Wednesday in search of the shot – including a couple who were taken by limousine.
The Fort Washington Armory in Upper Manhattan, transformed into an inoculation site by a location near New York-Presbyterian Hospital, remains one of the few vaccination sites in the city still in operation this week, despite a large shortage of photographs.
But, as reported by The City on Tuesday, many of those who showed up for the jabs came from outside the heavily hit neighborhood – and the site lacked Spanish-speaking staff at the time to help mostly Hispanic locals.
Although The Post met Spanish-speaking workers on Wednesday, the former trend has persisted.
“We’re relieved,” said Carol, an elderly woman who traveled with her husband from the Upper East Side to be caught. “We are trying to have a two-month meeting. It’s crazy. “
Carol, who refused to give her last name, and her husband – who refused to be identified at all – were picked up after their appointment by a black Cadillac limousine, their driver waiting with their small dog.
“You have to fight for this,” laughed Carol’s husband, when asked if he felt the vaccine was distributed correctly.
Following the scandal over news about foreigners coming to be blocked, NewYork-Presbyterian announced late Wednesday that appointments at this site will now go only to New Yorkers – and a minimum of 60% will be reserved for Washington Heights, Inwood residents. , Northern and Central Harlem and South Bronx. All existing appointments will continue to be honored.
Earlier in the day, Min Ye drove about three hours down Schoharie County to ensure that her 78-year-old mother and 80-year-old father could be vaccinated after what they did an online meeting the day before.
She explained that her parents have an apartment in Midtown Manhattan, but have temporarily lived with her state.
“They simply lived in the north of the state. They still have their apartment, “she said. “We feel that we are part of this community as well.”
Judy Stevens, 76, defended the Upper West Side trip for her vaccine, saying the Big Apple is a big community.
“This is New York City, and for me, you give it to everyone who needs it. People here can enter the computer just like everyone else, ”said Stevens, whose daughter set up a hospital appointment for him earlier Wednesday. “We are all in one place, but let’s not share. We’re all in New York City. We are all residents. ”
Erica Smith brought her 88-year-old mother, who has a pacemaker, for a vaccine.
“I told them about my mother’s heart condition and they told me to bring it straight,” Smith said, referring to hospital workers.
Smith, who lives in Washington Heights with her mother, said she has no problem with outsiders coming to the jabs.
“It’s a health situation, so why do you just want to help people [your] Neighborhood? “She asked.
However, the mayor dropped the practice during a press conference on Wednesday morning.
“I’m very upset by what I hear,” de Blasio said. “Here you have a site in the middle of an incredibly hard-hit neighborhood, a community mostly immigrants, a Latino community that was one of the places that endured the hardships of the COVID crisis.
“I want to see Presbyterian Columbia doing everything she can to reach out to the community around her,” he continued. “It simply came to our notice then. This should be the center of this center, period. A lot of times they want the vaccine in the community. ”
Hizzoner went on to say that the vaccination effort cannot be seen as favoring people more “privileged” than others.
“The whole idea of a successful vaccination effort must be community-based,” he said. “And people in the community need to see that these sites are really for them and are not somehow left out of the sites in their own community. So this needs to be fixed immediately. ”
At the city level, de Blasio acknowledged that both public and private hospitals could do a better job of ensuring that documents and schedules related to the vaccination process are available in languages beyond English and Spanish.
“It’s a huge, far-reaching effort, but we need to make sure it’s as inclusive as possible,” de Blasio said, stressing that the city could force private facilities to provide materials in other languages frequently spoken in the city, including Chinese. , French, Creole and Russian.
“It seems that none of them are sure,” de Blasio said, as his request for the three medical experts in the city to weigh was met with long silence. “If we don’t have the capacity to order it, we have to be really, very aggressive [that it’s implemented]. ”
When Hizzoner turned to doctors for answers to forms in city-run public hospitals, there was another busy break.
“You have to give credit where the credit is due. When The New York Post is right, they are right, “said de Blasio. “The actual forms for registering for appointments must be in languages other than English and Spanish, if we really want to maximize access. So, we will start working on fixing this. ”
The lack of translations is not the first time that the city’s vaccination effort has been criticized for accessibility issues.
The elderly analyzed the city’s complicated online registration system for freezing them, even though they are among the most vulnerable to coronavirus.
In a statement, the New York-Presbyterian said: “An ongoing commitment initiative focuses on reaching eligible residents in northern Manhattan and registering for appointments. This process is conducted in partnership with more than 40 community-based and faith-based organizations and other partners and focuses on ensuring access, overcoming hesitation and addressing persistent inequities. ”