NYC’s vaccine surge moving needle, first shots up 80% over July lows
What a payoff!
At least 50,000 New Yorkers have netted $100 gift cards under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s cash-for-shots incentives program as the Big Apple’s coronavirus vaccination effort picks up steam.
That means the city has already given away a quarter of the $20 million Hizzoner has said he’s prepared to spend on the two week old program, which was one of a slew of initiatives and mandates rolled out by City Hall recently to jump start its flagging inoculation numbers.
All told, more than 185,000 New Yorkers have lined up for their first shots over the two most recently completed weeks — the best numbers the Health Department has reported since June.
“We do see something good happening,” Hizzoner said at an unrelated Thursday press briefing in Brooklyn.
“Whatever moves people,” he added, justifying the new mandates and incentives. “Certainly, the incentive has moved some people and certainly the mandate has moved others.”
De Blasio’s giveaway is part of a three-prong approach out of City Hall to cajole reticent New Yorkers into getting their shots, which also included ordering the 300,000-strong municipal to get vaccinated or face weekly testing and requiring many indoor businesses — like bars, clubs and restaurants — to check for proof of vaccination before serving patrons.
The result? 104,544 New Yorkers got their first shots between August 1 and August 7, the single best week since last May, Health Department records compiled by The Post show.
The figure is nearly double the 57,370 reported between July 4 and July 10. And it’s the third consecutive week of major increases in the number of first shots doled out — which coincides with the new restrictions and incentives.
All told, 61.8 percent of all New Yorkers have gotten at least one shot — including 73.6 percent of all adults. Only those 12 and older are currently okayed to receive the vaccine
De Blasio’s new mandates and incentives come as the hyper-contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 fuels devastating outbreaks in many Southern states like Florida and Texas, where the rates of vaccination trail those in New York.
City Hall adopted the carrot-and-stick approach as public health experts in the five boroughs warn the Delta variant poses an extraordinary threat to unvaccinated New Yorkers.
Reams of data show that the vaccine is very effective in battling the coronavirus.
A report from Yale University and the city Department of Health estimated that the Big Apple’s vaccination campaign had staved off 250,000 coronavirus infections — preventing 44,000 hospitalizations and more than 8,000 deaths.
It also revealed that unvaccinated New Yorkers accounted for 495,023 of the 500,302 coronavirus cases in the five boroughs between Jan. 1 and June 15.
However, many of those cases predate the Delta variant becoming the dominant strain across the city, which has caused the numbers to tick up — though they remain far below previous peaks and the numbers being reported elsewhere across the country.
Health officials are still examining what exactly the Delta variant means for the vaccinated amid a slew of anecdotal reports about breakthrough infections. The early data shows that getting inoculated still slashes the risk of infection — though less than when compared to the knockout numbers the vaccinations posted against the initial versions of the coronavirus.
Additionally, the shots remain extremely effective at preventing those infected from developing severe symptoms, dramatically cutting the risk of hospitalization or eventually leading to death.
First jabs, by the numbers:
- July 4 – July 10: 57,370
- July 11 – July 17: 62,068
- July 18 – July 24: 68,894
- July 25 – July 31: 80,774
- Aug. 1 – Aug. 7: 104,544
