This story was reported by Matthew Chayes, Candice Ferrette and Bart Jones. It was written by Jones.
The newest incarnation of the House that Ruth Built took on a new and unimagined mission on Friday: to serve as a mass vaccination site to inoculate residents of the hard-hit Bronx against the deadly COVID-19 virus, like Governor Andrew M. Cuomo also announced that eligibility for injections will be expanded to people most at risk due to health conditions.
Former Yankees player Mariano Rivera, who joined Cuomo during a live broadcast, summed up the new mission at Yankee Stadium: “I used to play here and save games. Now, this is to save lives.”
“Hope is the name of the game now,” added the Hall of Fame, as hundreds of Bronx residents lined up to enter the stadium and take a shot.
Cuomo also announced that, as of February 15, the state is expanding its vaccination campaign to offer vaccines to people with comorbidities or health problems that put them at greater risk of death from the coronavirus.
“We will open it to people with comorbidities … The priority is to reach those people who are at greatest risk or most essential during this period of time,” said Cuomo.
Conditions that will make people eligible for vaccines include cancer, chronic kidney disease, lung disease, intellectual and developmental disabilities, heart disease, immunocompromised state, severe obesity, pregnancy, sickle cell disease or thalassemia, type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus, cerebrovascular disease, neurological conditions and liver disease. (See the list below.)
“New Yorkers with underlying comorbidities and conditions exist in the entire population of the state – they are our teachers, lawyers and carpenters, in addition to the doctors who keep us safe every day, and they are a highly affected population,” said Cuomo.
The Yankee Stadium opening is part of Cuomo’s campaign to target areas with the highest levels of COVID-19 infections and to persuade more blacks and Latinos to get the vaccine. He said Friday that these groups, among those hardest hit by the virus, are also among the most resistant to getting the vaccine.
Yankees coach Aaron Boone said, “This is an exciting day in the Bronx.” Yankees Stadium “has hosted many really special opening days, and I would say this is the most special opening day.”
Yankees President Randy Levine said the team will offer Yankees trinkets to people who shoot at the stadium as a way to induce greater participation. Only residents of the Bronx can be vaccinated there.
“This stadium is historic. It was built on the structure of the city and the Bronx,” he said. “We are part of the Bronx community. And this is bigger than baseball.”
Levine said he wished Cuomo could see the smiles on the faces of people lining up at the stadium. “It’s hope – we’re getting to the end of it,” he said.
Cuomo also announced the opening of short-term pop-up vaccination sites in churches, housing projects and community centers to try to reach affected populations. Two opened this week at a mosque in Westbury and a Roman Catholic church in Hampton Bays.
The original Yankee Stadium where Ruth played was closed in 2008 and a new stadium opened in 2009. The original was demolished in 2010.
Targeting ‘main factors’ with vaccine
In the comorbidity announcement, Cuomo said that 94% of people who died of COVID-19 were identified as having comorbidities or other conditions, making them a priority in expanding the vaccination effort.
“Comorbidities and age are the main factors” in COVID-19 mortality, added Cuomo, saying that the state often hears from other groups that want access to injections: “Why don’t we do this group? Do we do this group? Do you do all groups in the state when you do people with comorbidities. “
While Cuomo said his government is working to clarify some questions about health conditions that will be considered comorbidities for the injections, he said the state will largely follow the guidelines of the US Centers for Disease Control.
“We are committed to vaccinating the vulnerable populations that have suffered the most, as we distribute a strictly limited supply of vaccines, and people with comorbidities account for 94 percent of the state’s COVID deaths,” said Cuomo.
The vaccination campaign will be extended to more people because the state has reached an important level in the application of vaccines to 75% of hospital employees as of this Thursday, said Cuomo, staying in the range of the level of immunity to the virus that the state has targets outbreak prevention.
As of February 15, he said, the state will be able to reallocate most of the vaccine that had been reserved for hospital staff in the Phase 1A group to local health departments, so that these vaccines could be administered to people with comorbidities .
Cuomo said 39% of New Yorkers are hesitant to get the vaccine, according to surveys, but the percentages vary widely across ethnic groups.
About 78% of whites say they will get the vaccine when it is available to them, but only 39% of blacks, 54% of Hispanics and 54% of Asians.
On Friday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, Rivera, who was born in Panama, said he was lining up to try, in part, to show people that it is safe and encourage them to do the same.
“Now is the time to support him and inform him that it’s okay to be vaccinated. I’m on the line. When my turn comes, I’m on the line to get him,” he said.
Cuomo tweeted an ad in Spanish about the shots at the stadium. The Bronx has a large Hispanic population.
By early Friday afternoon, 13,000 of the 15,000 available times had been filled, said Mayor Bill de Blasio, an avowed Red Sox supporter.
Cuomo said infection levels continue to decline across the state, although he called Long Island again for having one of the highest levels of hospitalization and positivity.
The daily percentage of positives across the state from Thursday’s test results was 4.31% – the lowest level since November 28.
The seven-day average for Long Island was 5.56%, continuing a steady decline since the peak of the holiday season. The number of new confirmed cases was 757 in Nassau County, 771 in Suffolk County and 3,883 in New York City.
The number of patients hospitalized with the virus across the state dropped by 30 to 7,937. A total of 153 people died from causes related to COVID-19 on Thursday.
Cuomo said that 15 new cases of the “British variant” of the virus, considered more contagious, have been confirmed in the state to a total of 59.
Caution is recommended on Super Bowl Sunday
Nassau County executive Laura Curran sounded a note of hope on Friday when she announced the county’s “good news” positivity rate, below 5%, with cases and hospitalizations steadily declining.
She adopted a cautious tone, warning residents to maintain social distance measures on Super Bowl Sunday.
“I think we were alarmed when we saw the numbers go up and everyone went back to using common sense – doing all the things we know works – to help mitigate the spread of this virus,” said Curran during his daily meeting outside Yes, Community Center We Can in Westbury.
She said that the vaccine distribution is going well, despite the number of people still eligible for whom there are still no doses.
In the two vaccination centers administered by the county, only essential workers in category 1B are eligible for vaccines, including teachers.
By the end of the week, vaccination sites in Nassau will have inoculated 2,500 teachers and other school staff, Curran said.
“If we can’t get all the teachers from Nassau County together, we will get as much as possible, just as we did with the police authorities, the fire service and the grocery workers,” said Curran.
With Super Bowl Sunday approaching, Cuomo encouraged people to party safely, avoiding crowds and holding meetings for close family members.
“The numbers continue to decline after our post-holiday increase, but we are not yet out of danger,” he said. “As we work to get gun shots as quickly as possible, it is now more important than ever that we maintain this downward trend and continue to wear a mask and social distance.”
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QUALIFICATION OF HEALTH CONDITIONS FOR VACCINE
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the state will add people at risk for severe coronavirus disease due to underlying conditions or comorbidities to the stages of vaccination eligibility. As of February 15, adults of any age who are at increased risk due to the following conditions will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine:
- Cancer, current or in remission (including 9/11 related cancers).
- Chronic kidney disease.
- Lung disease, including, but not limited to, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma (moderate to severe), pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis and 9/11 related lung diseases.
- Intellectual and developmental disabilities, including Down syndrome.
- Cardiac conditions, including, but not limited to, heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies or hypertension (high blood pressure).
- Immunocompromised condition (weakened immune system) including, but not limited to, transplantation of solid organs or blood or bone marrow, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, use of other drugs to weaken the immune system or other causes.
- Severe obesity (body mass index, or BMI, 40 kg / m2), obesity (BMI 30 kg / m2 or higher, but below 40 kg / m2).
- Pregnancy.
- Sickle cell disease or thalassemia.
- Diabetes mellitus, types 1 or 2.
- Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and the blood supply to the brain).
- Neurological conditions, including, but not limited to, Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
- Liver disease.
Other eligible population groups can be found in the state’s phased distribution guidelines.
SOURCE: State of New York.