New data revealed shocking disparities between New York neighborhoods with regard to COVID-19 vaccination rates.
On Tuesday, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released the immunization rates against coronavirus by postal code.
In wealthier white neighborhoods, like Upper East, Douglaston and City Island, up to 25% of all adults received both doses of the 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 lagging behind.
Areas like the South Bronx, parts of central Queens and central Brooklyn have one of the lowest rates in New York City, with only 2% of all adults fully inoculated against the virus.
New CEP vaccination data in New York City shows total vaccination rates of up to 25% in wealthier white neighborhoods (dark blue), but as low as 2% in poor and minority neighborhoods (light blue)
These are the same CEPs that were most affected by the pandemic, with coronavirus infection rates of up to 7,600 cases per 100,000 (left) and mortality rates of up to 343 deaths per 100,000 people
The data showed that seven percent of all Manhattan residents are vaccinated in neighborhoods like Lincoln Square and Lenox Hill, with rates of up to 16 percent
Staten Island is the second most vaccinated neighborhood, with 6% of all residents receiving both vaccines.
In Queens’ predominantly white neighborhood, Douglaston, data shows that 20 percent of all adults are fully inoculated.
And on City Island, a neighborhood in the Bronx made up mostly of Caucasian residents, 25% received both jabs.
Many of these areas reported relatively low coronavirus mortality rates, around 163 deaths per 100,000, according to city data.
However, rates in the South Bronx, parts of central Queens and central Brooklyn – mostly minority communities – fall behind.
Neighborhoods like Mott Haven, Bedford-Stuyvesant and South Jamaica report that only 2% of all adults have been fully vaccinated.
Mortality rates for COVID-19 in these CEPs have been much higher, with up to 343 of every 100,000 people dying from the disease.
“Just as we saw a much smaller portion of vaccines going to black and brown New Yorkers, we see these geographic disparities manifesting themselves as well,” said Dr. Torian Easterling, director of actions for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
In New York City, white residents are three times more likely to receive the coronavirus vaccine than Latin residents and four times more likely than black residents
Vaccination rates are in line with the share of the white population, but blacks and Latinos accounted for only 5.4% and 11.5% of vaccinations, despite comprising 12.5% and 19% of the population of USA, according to CDC data
De Blasio said he believed that the recent opening of mass vaccination posts at Citi Field in Queens and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, reserved for residents of those neighborhoods, would increase immunization rates. Pictured: People line up at a COVID-19 vaccination site at Citi Field, February 10
The injustices cast a spotlight on the vaccine launch, which New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said shows “profound” racial disparities.
In New York City, white residents are three times more likely to receive the coronavirus vaccine than Latinos and four times more likely than black residents, city demographics revealed.
However, according to CDC data, blacks and Latin Americans are about 1.5 times more likely to come into contact with the virus than white Americans and about three times more likely to die.
De Blasio said the low vaccination rates in minority communities are due to the mixture of distrust and racial inequality.
“We have a lot of work to do,” he said on Tuesday.
“A lot of that has to do with underlying disparities and painful inequalities, for starters. The people who have the most privileges are the most capable of navigating this process. People who have more confidence in the vaccine will make more efforts to get it. ‘
Easterling said there is a need to put more emphasis on vaccine education, so that residents feel comfortable enough to get them.
He said that two common complaints he hears are that the [vaccine causes fertility problems, and that it was the product of a rushed and unsafe scientific process.]
“The important part is not only gaining trust around vaccines, but also making our communities feel that we are here to really serve them,” said Easterling.
De Blasio said he believed that the recent opening of mass vaccination posts at Citi Field in Queens and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, reserved for residents of those neighborhoods, would increase immunization rates.
‘It is about addressing inequality, doing something very tangible about it. This effort will not stop. We will go deeper and deeper into the communities to ensure equity, ‘he said.
The mayor also said the city plans to use Johnson & Johnson’s unique vaccine for elderly people staying at home.
‘With this, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is a single dose, requires less refrigeration. It’s easier to use, easier to transport, ‘he said.
‘We will use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to target elderly people living at home, literally sending medical teams and trained people to individual apartments’
J&J has submitted data from clinical vaccine trials for emergency use authorization, but the Food and Drug Administration is not expected to approve the injection until March.