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Update: Bronx Has Lowest Citywide Vaccination Rate; Survey Aims to Ascertain Attitudes to Vaccine

Coronavirus Vaccine
Photo courtesy of Hakan Nural on Unsplash

Editor’s Note: The Montefiore survey which aims to better understand vaccine hesitancy is still open for Bronxites to participate in, and a link to the survey is provided further below. On the other hand, please note that the vaccination statistics and some other COVID-19 related information about vaccine services reported in the story may now be outdated. Check our most recent stories for the latest updates in this regard.  

 

As the Bronx ranks lowest, at 35 percent, in terms of COVID-19 vaccination rates out of all five boroughs, Bronxites are being invited to take part in a research study that aims to understand Bronx communities’ attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine.

 

Dr. Nancy Kheck, director of health and human services at the Bronx Borough President’s Office, is working together with Dr. Damara Gutnick, senior director at the Office of Community and Population Health at Montefiore Health System on the survey.

Norwood News previously reported in mid-February on the relatively low vaccination rates achieved in some parts of the borough (including in Norwood and adjacent areas) compared to other parts of the borough like Riverdale, which had higher vaccination rates. The Bronx also had lower rates compared to other parts of the city.

 

Earlier this month, we also reported on the efforts by the Bronx Community 7 health committee to increase the vaccination rates.

NYC vaccination rates by borough as of April 12, 2021
Source: NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene

According to vaccination data recorded by the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOH&MH) as of April 12, the Bronx’s vaccination rate of 35 percent is lower than the citywide average of 41 percent, and is also lower than all other borough vaccination rates.

 

As of April 12, the vaccination rate in Brooklyn was 37 percent, in Manhattan, 51 percent, in Queens, it was 42 percent and on Staten Island, it was 44 percent.

 

Data shows that vaccination numbers have typically been lower across the U.S. in poorer communities, and in Black and Brown communities. The Bronx, New York City’s poorest borough and once COVID-19’s epicenter, had just 69 locations at which to receive the inoculation in mid February 2021. That was half the number of sites available in Manhattan, despite it having roughly the same population. This is reflective of national trends.

COVID-19 cases in ZIP code 10467 as of April 12, 2021
Source: New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene

The pause placed on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on April 13, as reported by The Hill, raised new concerns that this may further discourage residents who were already skeptical of the COVID-19 vaccine, from getting vaccinated.

 

However, one of the key reasons behind the low vaccination rates is the cost of administering vaccines, according to nonprofit, Bronx Rising Initiative. Each vaccine requires approximately $75 to administer, including staffing, overhead, supplies, etc. Yet medicaid and medicare only cover approximately $15 of this cost, according to the nonprofit, which has been covering these costs for local clinics in the Bronx. This has left local clinics – the ones marginalized communities know and trust and where they are more likely to turn for medical care – scrambling to afford the vaccines.

 

As of the end of March, the Bronx Rising Initiative, which launched in 2020, had funded the vaccinations of over 3,500 Bronx residents, through clinics and pop-ups at public housing since the beginning of the year.

 

With eligibility now expanded to all adults in New York, coveted vaccine spots which already require access to the internet and transportation, are being rapidly filled, leaving seniors, especially those who are homebound, with few to no options of getting vaccinated.

NYC Vaccination coverage per ZIP code as of April 12, 2021
Source: New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene

To address this, the Bronx Rising Initiative has launched, a homebound vaccine initiative to solve this problem, and inoculate Bronx seniors where they live, in partnership with local community organizations which are already serving homebound seniors. Residents can sign-up here.

 

In the meantime, on Friday, April 29, a CDC vaccine advisory committee recommended that the nationwide pause on the use of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine should be lifted following the completion of the investigation, as reported by The Hill.

 

The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 10-4 with one abstention, that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the risks, and that it will save lives, according to The Hill report.

 

The report added that the panel did not specifically ask for a warning label, but recommended that the FDA add a label intended to make providers aware of the risk of a rare complication involving blood clots in women under the age of 50.

 

In accordance with the updated FDA fact sheet, if you receive the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine, and within three weeks, you experience any of the following symptoms, you should contact your health care provider:

  • Severe headache
  • Chest or abdominal pain
  • Leg pain or swelling
  • Shortness of breath
  • Easy bruising or tiny blood spots under the skin at the site of injection

 

Meanwhile, maps provided by the New York City DOH&MH show the vaccination rates per ZIP code as of April 12 with the darker blue areas representing those ZIP codes with a higher vaccination rate.

 

For example, ZIP code 10471, which covers North Riverdale, Fieldston and Riverdale, shows that 43 percent of people in that area are fully vaccinated, and ZIP code 10464, which covers City Island, shows that 43 percent of people living there are also fully vaccinated.

 

These areas fare much better than other Bronx neighborhoods like ZIP code 10467, covering Norwood, Allerton, Pelham Parkway and Williamsbridge, where, as of April 12, only 21 percent of residents were fully vaccinated, and ZIP code 10458, which covers Belmont, Fordham University and Kingsbridge, where only 18 percent of residents are fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 case rates in ZIP code 10468 as of April 12, 2021
Source: New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene

Meanwhile, in ZIP code 10468, which covers Fordham, Kingsbridge and University Heights, only 20 percent of residents are fully vaccinated as of April 12.

 

At the March 16 CB7 health committee meeting, Michelle Avila, the committee chair said, “The Bronx and CB7 neighborhoods have not been faring well in terms of [COVID-19] caseload,” she said. According to the data, the 7-day COVID test positivity rate as of March 21 in the Bronx was 6.5 percent, compared to 2.9 percent in Manhattan. “I think that it’s pretty obvious that we’ve suffered some major losses because of COVID,” Avila said. “Our hope is to try to think about the factors that are contributing to these higher rates. It’s really concerning.”

 

In terms of the vaccination breakdown by race/ethnicity, the racial or ethnic group with the highest number of vaccinated people citywide is the Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander group at 59 percent, followed by Asian at 28 percent, American Indian or Alaskan Native at 26 percent and White at 26 percent, the Latinx community at 16 percent, and the Black community at 15 percent.

 

In terms of age-groups, the numbers are not surprising given the vaccine was prioritized for the elderly, ahead of other age-groups.

COVID-19 case rates in ZIP code 10453 as of April 12, 2021 
Source: New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene

Those in the 65 to 74 age group have the highest number of people vaccinated at 51 percent, followed by the 75 to 84 age group at 48 percent, the 85+ age group at 37 percent, the 55 to 64 age group at 33 percent, the 45 to 54 age group at 25 percent, the 35 to 44 age group at 21 percent, the 25 to 34 age group at 17 percent, and the 18 to 24 age group at 9 percent.

 

Meanwhile, links to the survey which aims to ascertain Bronxites attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine are provided below, in both English and Spanish. Residents are encouraged to click the link to see if they are actually eligible to participate in it. The survey takes approximately two minutes to complete.

COVID-19 case rates for ZIP code 10463 as of April 12, 2021
Source: New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene

Vaccine Appointments

Appointments are required to receive a vaccination. To determine your eligibility, access a list of nearby providers, and schedule a vaccination appointment, use New York State’s Am I Eligible app.

 

Prior to receiving a scheduled vaccination, residents must complete the New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Form. Please be patient and continue to monitor these links frequently for available vaccine appointments:

New York City: https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov/ or 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692)

New York State: https://am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/ or call 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829)

VaccineTogetherNY: https://vaccinetogetherny.org/Pages/default.aspx or call 646-697-VACC

To schedule an appointment, go to: https://vax4nyc.nyc.gov/patient/s/.

To find a vaccination site, go to: https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov/locations.

 

Your physician or local pharmacy may also have information on scheduling vaccine appointments.

 

If you need transportation to get your vaccine appointment, click this link for a list of options: https://forms.ny.gov/s3/vaccine.

 

To schedule an appointment at Yankee Stadium, you can also call 1-833-SomosNY. Another new mass vaccination site opened at Co-Op City on Thursday, March 4, which is open to all eligible applicants.

 

For trustworthy information on the vaccines and the research behind them, go to: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccine-facts.page.

 

The MTA announced that it has launched a new vaccination site locator on its live subway map. See the map here:

https://map.mta.info/#@40.70949,-73.97853,14z

COVID-19 case rates for ZIP code 10458.
Source: New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene

More Help with Scheduling Vaccine Appointments

Epicenter-NYC is a vetted, volunteer group, assisting New Yorkers to find and schedule vaccine appointments, particularly the elderly, and anyone not adept at using the internet. More details can be found here: https://epicenter-nyc.com/epicenters-vaccine-resources/ or my emailing hello@epicenter-nyc.com.

 

Separately, and additionally, the turbovax site, https://www.turbovax.info/, scans the websites of all providers offering the vaccine throughout the city and lists their available appointments.

 

A list of all Bronx vaccination sites from April 12 to April 18 is listed below.

Bronx COVID-19 vaccination sites from April 12 to April 18, 2021.
Source: NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene

Bronx BP Ruben Diaz Jr. also recently confirmed that the following Bronx sites are vaccinating New Yorkers 50+ without an appointment:

  • Bronx Co-Op City Dreiser Community Center
  • Northeast Bronx YMCA (Edenwald)
  • South Bronx Educational Campus
  • West Bronx Gymnasium
  • Lehman College – Apex Center
  • Bathgate Contract Postal Station

 

Another volunteer group who go by the Twitter handle @VaccineschedNYC and Instagram handle @VaccineSchedulerNYC are also helping vulnerable populations like seniors and non-native English speakers to book vaccine appointments. For questions, contact VaccineSchedulerNYC@gmail.com or phone/text: 646-494-7029.

 

As part of the Louella Hatch Democratic Club Spring Speaker Series, Bronx Assemblyman Victor Pichardo, who represents District 86, announced he would be holding a virtual discussion on April 13 at 6.30 p.m. on COVID-19 vaccine distribution, among other topics, like his views on the state of politics in The Bronx, and how youth can get better involved in the political process. To join this discussion, register here or join Facebook Live @LouellaHatchDemocraticClub.

 

 

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.

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