500 Vaccinated Over Two Days
New City, NY, – Rockland County Executive Ed Day, Commissioner of Health Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, County Legislator Toney Earl, MLK Center Executive Director Nathan Mungin and Spring Valley NAACP President Willie Trotman spoke outside of the Martin Luther King Multi-Purpose Center in Spring Valley as vaccinations of eligible individuals took place inside.
Vaccinations will be taking place from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM on Thursday, March 11 and Friday, March 12. Appointments are required. Walk-ins are not allowed.
Zip code level vaccine data for Rockland County was also announced (see attached). This data has been pulled from the New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS) by the Department of Health and formatted for display by the Planning Department. This information has also been added as a map to the County’s COVID-19 Dashboards which are accessible via RocklandGov.com and will be regularly updated on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (except holidays) moving forward. Direct link here: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/d074e0336e81449393a76d1768ceb096
The Spring Valley zip code, 10977, has the second lowest percentage of population to have received their first dose of vaccine within Rockland.
“This chart shows is a clear disparity and inequality that has been playing out in the vaccine distribution process which was largely reliant upon having a computer in order to sign up. Monsey and Spring Valley are the zip codes with the lowest percent of their residents vaccinated. Not from lack of demand or willingness to be vaccinated but from lack of access,” said County Executive Day. “Our Health Department is here at the MLK Center as they work towards correcting the imbalance in vaccine distribution.”
“All together we are making significant progress. As of today, March 11th, 20.5% of Rockland’s total population has received at least one vaccine dose. That is 66,631 people on their way to being fully immunized against this disease,” said Commissioner of Health Dr. Ruppert. “But now, as vaccine availability increases and with New York loosening their restrictions, we must and will focus on communities that have had difficulty previously signing up for appointments or faced other barriers to getting a shot.”
“We’re glad that the Health Department decided to come here, many of our seniors are not tech-savvy and so therefore this is very, very important. It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, black, brown, or white, COVID-19 attacks people and it kills people. While Spring Valley is low on the list in terms of getting the vaccinations, we want to reassure the people of this area that we will continue to fight to ensure that each of you has a vaccination,” said Spring Valley NAACP President Willie Trotman.
Rockland County Legislator Toney Earl thanked County Executive Day and the staff of the Health Department for arranging and clinic and went on to say, “I want to thank the people of Spring Valley, we had the highest number of cases and deaths and the least amount of accessibility to testing and vaccines. Many residents lack access to computers and transportation to obtain this vaccine but through it all you have remained steadfast, I am so proud of you, you are not just strong you are Spring Valley strong.”
MLK Multipurpose Center Executive Director Nathan Mungin highlighted the work of everyone involved in the clinic and said, “This is an important effort because it demonstrates the value of a community organization and how a public and private partnership can work to actually help the community.”
“With more than 20% of Rockland residents having gotten at least one dose of vaccine, that’s an incredible accomplishment by our Health Department and other local providers in the face of the state’s confusion and micromanagement of this process. We will get through this, by working together, supporting each other and looking out for those who are most vulnerable to this disease,” concluded County Executive Day.
The entire press conference is available for viewing here: https://fb.watch/4af9YPCmvJ/
Numbers and statistics quoted have been updated to reflect the latest data and may differ from the video.