The new data revealed shocking disparities between New York neighborhoods in terms of COVID-19 vaccination rates.
On Tuesday, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released postal immunization rates against coronavirus.
In richer, white neighborhoods, such as the Upper East, Douglaston and City Island, up to 25% of all adults received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
But in low-income and minority neighborhoods – which have been hardest hit when it comes to cases and deaths – vaccination rates are falling.
Areas such as the South Bronx, parts of downtown Queens and downtown Brooklyn have some of the lowest rates in New York City, with only two percent of all adults completely inoculated with the virus.
New zip code vaccination data in New York shows fully vaccinated rates of up to 25% in richer, white neighborhoods (dark blue), but up to 2% in poor, minority neighborhoods (light blue)
These are the same zip codes that were most affected by the pandemic, with coronavirus infection rates of up to 7,600 cases per 100,000 (left) and death rates of up to 343 deaths per 100,000 people.
Data shows that seven percent of all Manhattan residents are vaccinated with neighborhoods like Lincoln Square and Lenox Hill reporting rates of up to 16 percent
Staten Island is the second most vaccinated neighborhood, with six percent of all residents receiving both shots.
In the white Douglaston headquarters in Queens, data show that 20 percent of all adults are completely inoculated.
And City Island, a Bronx neighborhood made up mostly of Caucasian residents, received 25 percent of both blows.
Many of these areas have reported relatively low coronavirus deaths, at about 163 deaths per 100,000, according to city data.
However, rates in the South Bronx, parts of central Queens and central Brooklyn – most minority communities – lag behind.
Neighborhoods such as Mott Haven, Bedford-Stuyvesant and South Jamaica report that only two percent of all adults have been completely vaccinated.
COVID-19 death rates from these zip codes were much higher, with up to 343 out of 100,000 people dying from the disease.
“As we have seen a much smaller portion of vaccines heading to black and brown New York, we see that these geographical disparities are also manifesting themselves,” said Dr. Torian Easterling, chief officer of the health and hygiene department. mental.
In New York, white people are three times more likely to receive the coronavirus vaccine than Latin Americans and four times more likely than black residents
Vaccination rates are in line with the share of the population for whites, but blacks and Latinos accounted for only 5.4% and 11.5% of vaccinations, despite comprising 12.5% and 19% of the U.S. population, according to the data. CDC
De Blasio said he believes the recent opening of mass vaccination sites at Citi Field in Queens and the Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, reserved for residents of these neighborhoods, will increase immunization rates. Pictured: People line up at COVID-19 vaccination site at Citi Field, February 10
Inequities have drawn attention to the launch of the vaccine, which New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said has “deep” racial disparities.]
In New York, white people are three times more likely to receive the coronavirus vaccine than Latin Americans and four times more likely than black residents to live, according to the city’s demographics.
However, according to the CDC, black and Latin Americans are about 1.5 times more likely to contract the virus than white Americans and about three times more likely to die.
De Blasio said low vaccination rates in minority communities are due to a mixture of mistrust and racial inequality.
“We have a lot of work to do,” he said on Tuesday.
“Many of them refer to the painful disparities and inequalities that underlie them. People who have more privileges are best able to navigate this process. People who have more confidence in the vaccine will work harder to get it.
Easterling said more emphasis should be placed on vaccine education so that residents feel comfortable enough to take it.
He said the two common complaints he hears are that [vaccine causes fertility problems, and that it was the product of a rushed and unsafe scientific process.]
“The important part is not only to gain confidence in vaccines, but also to make our communities feel that we are here to truly serve them,” Easterling said.
De Blasio said he believes the recent opening of mass vaccination sites at Citi Field in Queens and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, reserved for residents of these neighborhoods, will increase immunization rates.
“It’s about tackling inequality, about doing something very tangible. This effort will not stop. We will go deeper and deeper into communities to make sure there is fairness, ”he said.
The mayor also said that the city intends to use the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine for the elderly.
“As the Johnson & Johnson vaccine comes into play, this is a single dose, requiring less refrigeration. It’s easier to use, easier to transport, ‘he said.
“We will use that Johnson & Johnson vaccine to get home, to the elderly, literally sending medical staff, people trained in individual apartments.”
J&J has released clinical trial data on the vaccine for emergency use, but the Food and Drug Administration is not expected to approve the shot until March.