NY To Target Communities With Lowest COVID-19 Vaccination Rates

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — As New York health officials are shifting vaccination efforts toward the places that have the lowest vaccination rates in the state, three communities in the Hudson Valley lead the list.

Monsey, Monroe and Spring Valley are three of the five worst, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced at his Monday morning coronavirus briefing.

Pointing to the state's success in getting hospital staff vaccination rates up after officials published individual hospitals' progress, Cuomo said, "We're going to do the same thing with zip codes. Yes, we're working statewide, but we're going to focus on these zip codes, and I want everybody focusing on the zip codes, because they're dramatically different."

The overall vaccination rate in New York is 68 percent, but in one out 10 of New York's 1,700 zip codes the rate is below 37 percent, he said.

Monsey, a Hasidic enclave in Rockland County, is the lowest in the state with a vaccination rate of just 17.6 percent. Monroe, in Orange County, comes in third with 27.4 percent, and Spring Valley in Rockland is fifth, with a 28.6 percent vaccination rate.

"To the county health departments and local governments I say, focus your resources there," Cuomo said. "That is where we have the greatest chance for advancement, and the local governments have the resources because the vaccination rate is way down. We don't have enough people coming into vaccination centers to justify having the centers open right now. We have centers open all day, and two, three, four people show up. So, redeploy those assets to these zip codes, because that's where it can make a difference."

Rockland County spokesman John Lyon said county officials would welcome any additional resources and outreach by New York State in helping to get Rockland residents vaccinated.

The County has been working closely with community leaders, municipalities and local providers to share educational resources and coordinate our outreach and vaccination efforts. We have a shared calendar to coordinate pop-up clinics and regularly discuss the questions we hear from residents.

Our Department of Health, along with local providers like Good Samaritan Hospital, Refuah and others have hosted numerous pop-up clinics throughout Rockland and we will continue to do so as we work towards getting more people vaccinated.

As you’ve likely seen, people are most comfortable getting vaccinated at places they know and have existing relationships. To aid these efforts, we will be hosting a webinar for healthcare providers to discuss the best practices and latest insights in addressing concerns regarding the COVID-19 vaccines.

Cuomo promised that all pandemic restrictions will be lifted in New York when the overall vaccination rate hits 70 percent. When will that happen? Officials and journalists made guesses at the news conference ranging from six days to a week.

"When we hit 70, it's going to be a day to celebrate, and the restrictions will come off and the Empire State Building will be blue and gold and all the state assets will be blue and gold and we can say we did it. We did it," Cuomo said. "We went from the highest infection rate on the globe to one of the lowest positivity rates on the globe, and to one of the highest vaccination rates on the globe. A turnaround story that has never been seen in this state and we saved thousands and thousands of lives in the meantime."

Monday afternoon, state officials said a pop-up site would open Saturday in Rockland County:

Martin Luther King Multi-Purpose Center
110 Bethune Blvd
Spring Valley, NY
Open: Saturday, June 12