Community Vaccination Kits Will Be Deployed to All 33 NYCHA Senior Housing Developments to Provide Vaccine Access to Eligible Senior Residents
Community Vaccination Program Expanded to Public Housing Complexes Statewide and More Than 300 Churches
Kits Deployed to Four NYCHA Sites on Saturday to Administer First Doses to More Than 1,000 Senior Residents; Eight Kits Also Deployed to Churches to Vaccinate Nearly 4,000 Eligible New Yorkers
Follows Last Week's Successful Deployment Which Administered First Doses to Nearly 1,200 Senior NYCHA Residents and Nearly 4,000 Eligible New Yorkers at Church Locations
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York is expanding its deployment of community vaccination kits to further strengthen fairness and equity in the vaccine distribution process. Last week, New York successfully piloted the deployment kits to five NYCHA senior housing developments and eight churches and cultural centers where nearly 4,200 seniors and eligible New Yorkers received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Kits are now being redeployed to four additional NYCHA sites and eight other churches to further build on that progress. In total, this initiative is expected to provide first doses of the vaccine to an additional 3,000 seniors and eligible New Yorkers by Tuesday. As with the pop-up sites established last weekend, these sites will be re-established in three weeks to administer second doses.
Following this weekend's deployments and as the federal vaccine supply increases, New York will continue to be deploy these kits until pop-up sites have been established at all 33 NYCHA Senior Housing Developments which house more than 7,600 seniors. Pop-up locations will also be established at other public housing complexes statewide, as well as at more than 300 churches and cultural centers which have volunteered to house these sites through Governor Cuomo's Vaccine Equity Task Force.
"COVID has created a different dynamic in this country -- I call it low tide in America," Governor Cuomo said. "If you go to the amazing Shirley Chisholm Park and look at the bay during high tide, it looks beautiful, but if you go at low tide, you can see all the ugliness on the bottom. That's what we've seen over this past year during America's low tide - the racism, the discrimination, the inequality - and COVID has only exacerbated that problem. The undeniable fact is that COVID has killed the Black and Latino communities at a higher rate than the white community. There is no getting around that and its why New York has made ensuring fairness and equity in the vaccine distribution such a priority. I understand there is a level of skepticism about the vaccine given how it was managed by the previous administration, but that's why New York did its own review. It's safe, it's effective, and it's the weapon that will win the war, but we will only be successful if everyone is on board."
It's safe, it's effective, and it's the weapon that will win the war, but we will only be successful if everyone is on board.
The establishment of these four NYCHA sites was made possible through a partnership with SOMOS Community Care which runs the scheduling process and provides health care workers to administer the vaccine to eligible New Yorkers with appointments. The sites opening this weekend are as follows:
Bronx
Randall Avenue-Balcom Avenue Housing
2705 Schley Avenue
Bronx, NY 10465
Union Avenue-East 163 Street Housing
950 Union Avenue
Bronx, NY 10459
Brooklyn
William Reid Apartments
720 East New York Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11203
Vandalia Avenue Housing
17 Vandalia Avenue
Brooklyn, NY, 11239
Eight church-based sites are also opening this weekend at the following locations:
Albany
Sweet Pilgrim Baptist Church
24 Ten Broeck St.
Albany NY 12210
Hours: Monday, January 25th 10am-6pm
Medical Partnership: Whitney M. Young Jr. Health Center
Syracuse
People's AME Zion Church
2306 S Salina St.
Syracuse, NY 13205
Hours: Monday, January 25th 1-4pm
Medical Partnership: Onondaga County
Rochester
Mt. Olivet Baptist Church
141 Adams St
Rochester, NY 14606
Hours: Monday, January 25th 10am-6pm
Medical Partnership: Monroe County
Buffalo
St. John Baptist Church
184 Goodell St
Buffalo NY 14204
Hours: Monday, January 25th 10am-5pm
Medical Partnership: Community Health Center of Buffalo/Erie County Medical Center
Bronx
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
777 East 222nd St. Bronx, NY 10467
Hours: Tuesday, January 26th 9am-5pm
Medical Partnership: SOMOS Community Care
Brooklyn
Bethany Baptist Church
460 Marcus Garvey Blvd Brooklyn NY 11216
Hours: Tuesday, January 26th 9am-5pm
Medical Partnership: SOMOS Community Care
Nassau
Memorial Presbyterian
189 Babylon Turnpike #1
Roosevelt, NY 11552"
Hours: Tuesday, January 26th 2-6pm
Medical Partnership: Northwell Hospital
Suffolk
St. Hugh of Lincoln Church
21 E 9th Street
Huntington Station, NY 11746"
Hours: Tuesday, January 26th 2-6pm
Medical Partnership: Northwell Hospital
Appointments at church-based sites are scheduled independently by each individual church.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries said, "The Covid-19 pandemic has brought pain, suffering and death throughout the land, especially in Black and brown communities that have traditionally been underserved. We are currently in an extraordinary situation, and we need to take an all-hands-on deck approach at every level of government to ensure the most vulnerable amongst us are vaccinated equitably. I thank Governor Cuomo for his tremendous leadership, along with Congresswoman Clarke, SOMOS and NYCHA tenant leadership, for working together to bring vaccines directly to the people in Central Brooklyn."
Representative Yvette Clarke said, "Brooklyn is a community. We know and love one another, and we know how to get a message out. The message is clear, we believe in science, this vaccine will save lives. Seniors and high-risk communities must get vaccinated, immediately. Full stop. Brooklyn, I am asking you to take this moment seriously, to understand how important having a vaccination site in our community is and to get vaccinated to save your life and the lives of your loved ones. I am grateful for Governor Cuomo's leadership and focus on supporting communities of color through this pandemic. Today's work to expand the deployment of Community Vaccination Kits is a critical step to ensure all New Yorkers can access this life-saving vaccine. We will get through this together."
President of the NYCHA Tenants Group Citywide Council of Presidents Danny Barber said, "COVID-19 had a devastating impact on our community and I applaud Governor Cuomo for ensuring that our senior residents are met where they are with these vaccines. We know the best way to reach NYCHA residents with the vaccine is with people they know and trust to help defeat this terrible virus. There is a new day coming to New York State, and I am proud to see the commitment to our community come to fruition."
Senator Zellnor Myrie said, "Throughout this pandemic, Black and Brown communities have waited longer for testing, gotten sicker, and experienced higher death rates from COVID-19. I'm grateful to the Governor's Equity Task Force for bringing this lifesaving vaccine to our seniors in NYCHA. This vaccine is safe and effective, and widespread vaccination will protect our lives, reopen our schools, businesses and churches, and reunite us with our families and friends."
SOMOS Vice Chair Henry R Muñoz, III said, "Being able to reach those most in need, in the languages they speak, and by the family doctors they know is the only way we are going to get the shots in arms necessary to bring long-term health to our communities. And it is only through partnerships with Governor Cuomo, Congressman Jeffries, Congresswoman Clark, and officials like them that we as community physicians have the support and supplies to protect those who need us and to ensure our communities are cared for."
City Council Member and Chair of the Committee on Public Housing Alicka Ampry-Samuel said, "Throughout the pandemic the most vulnerable are my seniors in NYCHA developments. They have been and continue to be isolated from society. I'm glad to see that Gov. Cuomo has decided to go directly to the seniors at Reid Houses today, ensuring they have access to this vital vaccine. For the seniors to be provided with the vaccine in the senior center of their residential building is a commonsense approach to tackling this deadly virus in communities that have been hit the hardest."
This expanded deployment of Community Vaccination Kits furthers Governor Cuomo's goal of ensuring the fair and equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. In late 2020, the Governor announced the launch of New York's Vaccine Equity Task Force chaired by Secretary of State Rossana Rosado, Attorney General Letitia James, National Urban League President & CEO Marc Morial, and Healthfirst President & CEO Pat Wang. Since its establishment, the Task Force has continued work to ensure vulnerable and underserved communities are not left behind by breaking down the barriers to vaccination and ensuring there is equitable distribution of the vaccine across the state.
To facilitate this effort, New York has continued to build kits and work with public housing officials, churches, and community centers to support these efforts and deploy kits to the appropriate locations. Each kit includes step-by-step instructions for how to set up a site, and critical supplies and equipment such as:
- Office Supplies
- Workstation Equipment
- Communications Equipment
- Cleaning Supplies
- Lighting Equipment
- PPE
- Crowd/Traffic Control Equipment
- Vials
- Syringes
- Room Dividers
- Privacy Curtains
Contact the Governor's Press Office
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