NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Even with New York City running short of vaccine, Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday announced a new effort to come to the aid of seniors who can't get themselves to the vaccination sites.
Next week, the mayor said the city will open the first vaccination clinics in buildings housing retirement communities, allowing seniors living there to simply travel a short distance from their rooms to get a shot.
"There's a lot of seniors who could get vaccinated if it's in their building, but they can't go farther than that," de Blasio said.
He is also promising the city will vaccinate 25,000 home health aides who care for seniors.
The mayor also said that as soon as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approved, the city will start a specific initiative to have medical personnel go to apartments of homebound seniors to administer the doses.
"Our homebound seniors are amongst the most vulnerable people in New York City. So it's going to be harder to reach them, but we will reach them," the mayor said Friday. "When that vaccine arrives, we're going to take a part of that allotment and devote it specifically to homebound seniors, have nurses and other medical professionals go apartment by apartment and make sure they are safe."
He noted the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires less refrigeration and only one dose, which he called "a blessing."
De Blasio said the city's effort to bring the vaccine to homebound seniors will have a big impact and bring a "sigh of relief" to many families.
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