New data has revealed shocking disparities between New York City neighborhoods in terms of vaccination rates against COVID-19.
On Tuesday, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released coronavirus immunization rates by zip code.
In richer white neighborhoods such as the Upper East, Douglaston and City Island, up to 25% of adults have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
But in low-income and minority neighborhoods, which have been hardest hit in terms of cases and deaths, vaccination rates are delayed.
Areas such as the South Bronx, parts of downtown Queens and downtown Brooklyn have one of the lowest rates in New York City, with only two percent of all adults fully inoculated with the virus.
New zip code vaccination data in New York City shows fully vaccinated rates of up to 25% in richer white neighborhoods (dark blue) but as low as 2% in poor and minority neighborhoods (light blue)
These are the same zip codes that have been hardest hit 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 with neighborhoods like Lincoln Square and Lenox Hill, which have rates of up to 16 percent.
Staten Island is the second most vaccinated district, with six percent of all residents receiving both shots.
In the predominantly white neighborhood of Douglaston, Queens, data show that 20 percent of all adults are fully inoculated.
And in City Island, a neighborhood in the Bronx made up mostly of Caucasian residents, 25% have both been hit.
Many of these areas have reported relatively low coronavirus mortality rates, at around 163 deaths per 100,000, according to city data.
However, rates in the southern Bronx, parts of central Queens and central Brooklyn, mostly minority communities, lag behind.
Neighborhoods such as Mott Haven, Bedford-Stuyvesant and South Jamaica report that only two percent of all adults have been completely vaccinated.
COVID-19 mortality rates in these zip codes have been much higher, with up to 343 per 100,000 people dying from the disease.
“Just as we have seen a much smaller portion of vaccines targeting black and brown New Yorkers, we see that these geographical disparities are also occurring,” said Dr. Torian Easterling, director general of the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene.
In New York City, white residents are three times more likely to receive the coronavirus vaccine than Latino residents and four times more likely than black residents
Vaccination rates are in line with the proportion of the population of white people, but blacks and Latinos account for only 5.4% and 11.5% of vaccines, although they account for 12.5%. and 19% of the U.S. population, according to CDC data
De Blasio said he believes the recent opening of mass vaccination sites at Queens ’Citi Field and the Bronx’s Yankee Stadium, reserved for residents of those municipalities, will increase vaccination rates. Pictured: People line up at a COVID-19 vaccination site in Citi Field on February 10
Inequalities highlighted the deployment of vaccines, which New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said shows “deep” 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, according to city demographics.
However, according to CDC data, blacks and Latin Americans are about 1.5 times more likely to come in contact with the virus than white Americans and about three times more likely to die.
De Blasio said low vaccination rates in minority communities are due to a mixture of mistrust and racial inequality.
“We have a lot of work to do,” he said Tuesday.
Much of this is about underlying painful disparities and inequalities to begin with. People with more privileges can navigate this process. People who have more confidence in the vaccine will spend more effort to get it.
Easterling said more emphasis needs to be placed on vaccine education so that residents feel comfortable enough to take it.
He said two common complaints he hears is that the [vaccine causes fertility problems, and that it was the product of a rushed and unsafe scientific process.]
“The important part is not just gaining trust around vaccines, but also making our communities feel like we’re here to really serve them,” Easterling said.
De Blasio said he believes the recent opening of mass vaccination sites at Queens Citi Field and the Bronx Yankee Stadium, reserved for residents of those municipalities, will increase vaccination rates.
“It’s about tackling inequality, doing something very tangible about it. That effort won’t stop. We’re going to go deeper and deeper into communities to ensure there is equity,” he said.
The mayor also said the city plans to use the unique Johnson & Johnson vaccine for seniors at home.
“As the Johnson & Johnson vaccine comes into play, i.e. a single dose, it requires less refrigeration. It’s easier to use, easier to transport,” he said.
“We will use this Johnson & Johnson vaccine to get home, seniors, literally sending medical staff and trained people to individual apartments.”
J&J has submitted clinical trial data on vaccines for emergency use authorization, but the Food and Drug Administration is not expected to approve the shot until March.