Covid-19 Response Update: White House Partners with the State of New York to Build Two New Major Community Vaccination Centers in Brooklyn and Queens

 Today, the White House announced that the Administration will be partnering with the State of New York to build two new major Community Vaccination Centers (CVCs) in Brooklyn and Queens.

 

The CVCs will be at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn and York College in Queens. Together, these sites will be capable of administering thousands of shots in arms a day.

 

The White House is deploying federal teams immediately to work hand-in-hand with the state and local jurisdictions, and expects these sites to start getting shots in arms in the coming weeks. These CVCs will utilize primarily federal staff in support of state and local governments.

 

These sites were identified using a range of criteria, most central to those is the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index. This tool was created to help emergency response planners and public health officials identify and map communities that will most likely need support before, during, and after a hazardous event. The index takes into consideration critical data points, including socioeconomic status, household composition, minority status, languages, housing type and transportation.

 

The goal of establishing these joint federal pilot centers is to continue to expand the rate of vaccinations in an efficient, effective and equitable manner, with an explicit focus on making sure that communities with a high risk of COVID-19 exposure and infection are not left behind.

 

Hard-Hit New York Communities:

• Brooklyn is home 2.6 million people, the New York City’s most populous borough.
  • Brooklyn currently has a 7.62% COVID-19 positivity rate (7-day average).
  • According to the CDC SVI data, Brooklyn has a .82 ranking.
  • In Brooklyn, 21.1% of the population live below the poverty line.
  • The borough is home to minority communities, including a large Black community (32.6%) and a sizeable elderly community (16.3%).
  • 12% of Brooklyn has a limited English proficiency. 
    
    
• Queens is the largest New York City borough by area, and trails only Brooklyn in population – making it the city’s second most populous borough with 2.3 million people.
  • Queens currently has a 9.56 % COVID-19 positivity rate (7-day average).
  • According to the CDC SVI data, Queens has a .62 ranking.
  • Queens is home to several minority communities, including large Black (18.3%), Asian (25.3%), and Hispanic (28%) communities.
  • 15% of Queens has a limited English proficiency.