New York Metropolis’s first woman, Chirlane McCray, obtained a Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday afternoon at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, as New York Metropolis well being officers attempt to deal with a stark racial disparity in its vaccine rollout.
Ms. McCray, who’s 66, meets the state’s present age requirement that permits New Yorkers older than 65 years of age to get the vaccine. Her husband, Mayor Invoice de Blasio, who’s 59, doesn’t.
To date, Black and Latino residents have obtained far fewer doses of a vaccine than white residents, although communities of shade have been hit hardest by the virus. The city’s demographic data is incomplete however the latest information accessible exhibits that of almost 375,000 metropolis residents who obtained one dose of a vaccine and whose race was recorded, about 46 % have been white, 16 % have been Latino, 16 % have been Asian and 12 % have been Black.
Latino and Black residents have been significantly underrepresented: The town’s inhabitants is roughly 29 % Latino and 24 % Black.
The town’s well being division has pushed to encourage Black and Latino New Yorkers to get vaccinated, hoping to deal with vaccine hesitancy, in mild of the historical past of unethical medical research in america. However Mr. de Blasio mentioned final week that he and his spouse, who’s Black, wouldn’t obtain the vaccine till they met state eligibility standards, citing a want to reassure New Yorkers that the method was honest and equitable.
“Individuals have to see that people they know, people they belief and respect are getting the vaccine,” Mr. de Blasio mentioned at a information convention. “In addition they have to know that the priorities are being revered and people who want it most are getting it first.”
After receiving her shot, a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Ms. McCray inspired eligible New Yorker to enroll in vaccine appointments — although access to those appointments, that are listed on dozens of disparate web sites, has been one of many boundaries to the equitable distribution of the vaccine.
“There actually is nothing to be afraid of,” Ms. McCray mentioned of being vaccinated. “We need to do that for our households, we need to do that for our family members, and naturally we need to do it for our metropolis.”
As of Tuesday, New York Metropolis had administered greater than one million doses of vaccine. Mr. de Blasio had hoped to offer that many doses in January alone however has blamed a lack of supply for the slower tempo.
