NYC Vaccinates 62,000 5 to 11-Year-Olds in One Week, Vaccination Sites at Every Public School

By Yehudit Garmaise

After just one week, New York City has administered 62,000 vaccination doses for 5 to 11-years-old in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this morning.  

In the city’s public elementary schools, which as of today will each have had a vaccination site, 22,500 vaccine doses have been given to children.

 “We are seeing tremendous demand for vaccines when it comes to our youngest New Yorkers,” the mayor said this morning from Brooklyn Borough Hall, where he is holding his morning press conference all week. “This is really exciting. We want to protect our kids, protect our families.”

Although parents of 12 to 17-year-olds, 80% of whom have been vaccinated, did not flock to schools to get their children vaccinated, parents of children who are 5 to 11-years old “have been coming out in big numbers” to get their kids vaccinated at the schools, said the mayor, who added that he will be adding more vaccination initiatives in schools this week because of their great success.”

“Let’s make sure every single child gets vaccinated.”

Although the city is focusing on vaccinating children because the FDA just gave emergency-use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine for 5 to 11-year-olds on Oct. 29, the mayor emphasized that all New Yorkers, regardless of their ages, continue to get their shots.

“Let’s make sure that anyone who is not yet vaccinated, gets vaccinated,” said the mayor, who added that 87% of adults in New York City have gotten their shots, and that number, he said, is climbing, every day, due to city’s mandates and incentives. “The colder months are coming, which means more people will be indoors, with more exposure to getting infected with COVID.”

As the mayor is in Brooklyn this week, Brooklyn Borough President-elect Antonio Reynoso came on the press call to express his Brooklyn pride and to weigh in on the city’s vaccination effort.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of this city, which was challenged during COVID, and was asked to do more,” said Reynoso. “And we said ‘Yes, we are more than happy to do that. Our young people are getting vaccinated, our city agencies getting vaccinated.’ 

“This city truly is the model and the standard of what it looks like to be a healthy city and to be vaccinated and to be a contributor to the greater good.

“I look forward to when every student in our system is vaccinated,” said Reynoso, who said he looked forward to welcoming the mayor back to his home in Brooklyn, where he can “replenish his soul.” 

“Brooklyn is the greatest borough and the center of the universe,” Reynoso said. “We love all of New York City, but Brooklyn, just a little bit more.”