Half Of Brooklyn Adults Are Now Partially Vaccinated: Data

BROOKLYN, NY — Half of adult Brooklynites have now gotten at least their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, making the borough the second to last in New York City to reach the milestone, data shows.

Brooklyn surpassed the 50-percent threshold on Friday after hovering just below the marker for at least a week, according to city data.

The milestone comes two weeks after New York City as a whole reached a 50-percent partial vaccination rate and even longer since Manhattan, with the highest vaccine rate in the city, passed the threshold. All boroughs but the Bronx — where 47 percent of residents over 18 had received their first shot as of Friday — have now reached the halfway point.

Brooklyn and the Bronx have both lagged behind the other three boroughs since the start of the city's vaccine distribution as officials struggled to reach neighborhoods hardest-hit by the pandemic.

The picture in Brooklyn, and across the city, remains uneven.

A recent analysis by Gothamist found that wealthier and whiter neighborhoods are faring better in the vaccine campaign, as the city is confronted with a sudden drop in vaccine demand now that shots have opened up to all New Yorkers.

In Brooklyn, partial vaccination rates have soared above 70 percent in neighborhoods like Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights, while some ZIP codes in Bed-Stuy and Brownsville struggled to reach 40 percent as of Friday, numbers show.

The rates have also been slower to rise in recent weeks as the number of New Yorkers signing up for a shot declines. The number of new vaccinations in one week has dropped 67 percent from its peak, according to Council Member Mark Levine, chair of the health committee.

The New York drop corresponds with a national slowdown in part due to those still hesitant about getting the shot.

We're not paying enough attention to the steep decline in vaccination in NYC. 67% drop in 1st shots compared to peak.

45% of adults in NYC still haven't gotten their first shot.

If you yourself have been vax'd, congrats! Now fight to ensure no one in this city is left behind. pic.twitter.com/XeDRWd6LT8
— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) May" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/MarkLevine... 5, 2021

Mayor Bill de Blasio has acknowledged the slowdown, but maintains the Big Apple's distribution remains steady.

"Even though we’ve seen some slowdown, there’s still a lot of people coming in to get vaccinated,” he said recently.

As of Friday, 56 percent of New Yorkers have gotten at least their first shot. Across the specific boroughs, that rate stood at 65 percent in Manhattan, 60 percent in Queens and 53 percent in Staten Island.