Despite Lack of Early Priority, Boro Parkers Get Their Shots

By Yehudit Garmaise

     Outpacing the rates of vaccination among the city’s 34% of Latino adults and 28% of African-American adults who have gotten their shots, 39% of Boro Parkers have gotten at least their first shot, according to the New York City’s Health Department website.

     Four months ago, when the COVID vaccines became available, Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed his Task Force on Racial Equity and Inclusion to prioritize 33 New York City neighborhoods that were “hardest hit” by COVID. Despite red zones, negative press coverage, and high rates of death, no Orthodox Jewish communities were among the mayor’s neighborhoods that were given priority for the vaccines.

   The vaccines, thankfully, are now available to all New Yorkers 16 and up, but New Yorkers who were not in the 33 prioritized neighborhoods say that even as eligibility increased among New Yorkers, the availability of the vaccines still felt restricted for months.

   “Equal eligibility does not mean equal availability,” said Yossi Gestetner, who is the executive director of the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council. “Now, the vaccination roll-out is more even-handed, but when the process started, Boro Park was not on the hard-hit list.

   “The vaccination rates of Boro Park serve as an inspiration for how an underserved community can organize to ensure timely access to needed vaccinations and healthcare.”

    In the Orthodox Jewish community, months ago, rumors swirled that the vaccine could cause infertility, however, BoroPark24 has been reassured repeatedly, not only by the city’s top physicians, but other doctors as well, that the vaccine does not cause infertility.

   “There's no scientific basis for that concern,” said Melissa Schapiro, MD, who is a physician who practices pediatrics at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. “Vaccine safety is really a topic that should be supported by data, not by anyone's opinions."

”(Kevin P. Coughlin / Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)