NYC’s Health Commissioner is waiting for his COVID vaccine, too
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NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi appeared on City Watch on WBAI 99.5 FM Sunday. The show is cohosted by Eagle editor David Brand. Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
By David Brand
Even New York City’s top doctor has to wait his turn for the COVID-19 vaccine.
During an appearance Sunday on WBAI, Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said he has not yet received the vaccine, despite administering one of the first two doses to staff at Elmhurst Hospital on Dec. 16. New York City’s initial batch of doses was reserved for hospital personnel.
“I have not myself received the vaccine yet because I am not in the highest risk category for hospital workers who are getting the vaccine,” Chokshi said. “But I can tell you this: As soon as it’s my turn I will be getting the vaccine because I believe it’s safe and effective and I look forward to that day.”
Chokshi, a Queens resident, joined the program City Watch, co-hosted by Eagle editor David Brand and PR pro Jeff Simmons, to discuss vaccine rollout and to respond to concerns about safety and equity.
Listen to the interview on City Watch, WBAI 99.5 FM:
He said he was inspired by the Dec. 16 scene at Elmhurst Hospital, where he administered a shot to Emergency Room physician’s assistant Veronica Delgado — one of the first two public hospital staffers to receive a dose of the vaccine produced by Pfizer. The hospital emerged as the epicenter of the COVID crisis in New York City in March and April.
“To see the hope and the spirits lift with those first vaccines was a surreal moment and one that made my heart swell,” he said.
Private and public hospitals in New York City will continue gradually vaccinating their staff over the next few weeks. About 5,200 people received their first dose of the vaccine between Dec. 14 and Dec. 17, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Nearly 43,000 doses had arrived in the city as of Dec. 17, he said at a press briefing that day.
Chokshi said Monday that New York City will receive 149,400 doses of a second vaccine produced by the company Moderna by Wednesday.
Nursing home staff and residents began receiving the vaccine Monday.
In the coming months, the Health Department will prioritize vaccine distribution in 27 neighborhoods hardest-hit by the coronavirus, predominantly low-income communities of color. The specific Queens neighborhoods include Corona, Jamaica, Briarwood, Far Rockaway and the Queensbridge Houses.
COVID-19 “intersects with communities that have been disadvantaged historically,” Chokshi said.
The data bears that out. In May, zip codes encompassing largely immigrant neighborhoods of East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Corona accounted for four of the six highest rates of positive COVID-19 cases in the city. A zip code in Far Rockaway, which is majority black and Latino, and another in Flushing, majority Asian, had the second and third highest death rates in New York City during the pandemic’s peak.
Vaccine availability does not automatically mean administration, however. Successful mass rollout will depend on outreach and trust-building among skeptical residents, he said.
To that end, the city will partner with community-based organizations, faith leaders, primary care doctors and local pharmacies to promote and provide the vaccine.
The Health Department and individual medical providers will then follow up with New Yorkers who receive the first dose to ensure they get the second one too, he said. The second dose of the Pfizer vaccine has to be administered three weeks later, while the second dose of the vaccine produced by Moderna is administered four weeks after the first shot.
“Turning vaccines into the vaccinations is not just about the science or the logistics of delivering and administering the vaccine,” Chokshi said. “We have to center the idea of equity as a key goal of our vaccine rollout.”
