The website at the Armory Track & Field Center in Washington Heights was launched on January 14 by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Vaccine consultations were initially offered to people aged 65 and over who live in the state of New York.
Lawmakers representing Washington Heights and a doctor who worked there last week said the first wave of vaccinations was for many white New Yorkers over 65 who traveled to the Armory from other parts of the city and the state.
“The more I learn about it, the more furious I get,” said de Blasio during a virtual press conference. “Somehow, instead of focusing on the Latin community in Washington Heights, a place that was really hard hit by Covid, the approach was somehow conducive to people outside the community who came and got vaccinated, but not people who lived right there in Washington Heights. Quite the opposite. ”
‘Color New Yorkers’ should take pictures
The issue on the Washington Heights website is a striking example of inequality in access to vaccines across the country.
NewYork-Presbyterian said in an email to CNN on Friday that in the past two days more than 80% of vaccinated people were residents of these communities.
“An ongoing engagement initiative is focused on reaching eligible northern Manhattan residents and registering them for consultations,” the hospital said in a statement on Wednesday. “This process is being carried out in partnership with more than 40 community and faith-based organizations and other partners, and is focused on providing access, overcoming hesitations and addressing persistent inequalities.”
More than 25,000 people have been vaccinated there since the opening, according to the hospital. The New York Presbyterian did not present racial discrimination of vaccine recipients.
‘It’s like’ Hunger Games ”
New York City councilor Mark Levine told CNN that the initial application process for the Armory website required several steps for registration and screening for eligibility and did not accommodate Washington Heights residents who do not speak English and are not experienced in technology.
In Washington Heights / Inwood, 37% of residents have “limited English proficiency”, according to NYC Health’s 2018 report.
“It’s like ‘The Hunger Games’,” said Levine. “People who don’t have a computer, they don’t have a good internet, they don’t feel comfortable with technology, they may have limited English skills, they can’t do it. And that is reflected in who is appearing on these sites.”
Dr. Susana Bejar, of Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center, said she witnessed the disparity in Washington Heights firsthand when she volunteered at the Armory as an appointment checker on January 23.
Bejar said that of the 2,400 people who received the vaccine that day, most were not from the local community. “Simply put, I’ve never seen so many whites in Washington Heights,” Bejar tweeted on Sunday.
Bejar said the site needs to prioritize Washington Heights residents, allowing same-day and on-site bookings, reserving vaccines for those living in the community, offering help to people struggling to sign up for the smartphone app, and ensuring that residents have time to schedule your appointments.
“It is difficult to have speed and equity,” Bejar told CNN. “When vaccines are distributed primarily through a smartphone app in English to those who update the app first, long-standing structural inequalities will replicate unless the medical community makes a conscious and consistent effort to resolve them.”
The need for partnerships with the community
Disparities in who is receiving the Covid-19 vaccine are a national problem.
A CNN analysis of 14 states revealed that vaccination coverage is twice as high among whites, on average, as between blacks and Latinos.
The analysis found that, on average, more than 4% of the white population received the Covid-19 vaccine, about 2.3 times greater than the black population (1.9% covered) and 2.6 times greater than the Hispanic population (1.8% covered).
De Blasio said vaccine providers should partner with community groups, local health providers, clergy and trusted community leaders to ensure that people of color have fair access.
“We are nowhere near the supply we need,” De Blasio told a news conference on Friday.
Deputy Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) said his office had received several complaints about the local community being left out of vaccinations at the Armory. Espaillat said he believed it was an oversight and that partnerships with local churches and senior centers will be essential to vaccination efforts in Washington Heights.
“From day one, I have been concerned with the distribution of the vaccine, not allowing the rich to come in and push our people out so that they can skip the line and get the injection first,” said Espaillat. “I think it’s fixed now, but we will monitor it for the next few days.”
Community groups in Washington Heights say they need to be involved in all distribution efforts if health leaders want to reach people of color.
Jon-Paul Dyson, program director for the Community League of the Heights, or CLOTH, said that many residents do not have Wi-Fi or e-mail access, so they rely on word of mouth, literature by mail or their service providers. for information.
Dyson said he is working with the health community to help vaccinate residents.
“Education is the biggest piece that is currently missing,” said Dyson on Thursday. “The places to go, transportation for our elderly to get there, all of the above.”
CNN’s Priya Krishnakumar and Deidre McPhillips contributed.