NY Kicks Off Faith-Based Vaccine Network, Lowers Age Eligibility

MOUNT VERNON, NY — With an influx of coronavirus vaccine doses on the way, New York officials opened vaccinations to people age 50 and older and announced a new, interfaith program creating vaccine centers in houses of worship.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo visited Westchester County Monday to announce the Roll Up Your Sleeve campaign.

"We're deploying a foundation of our society — the faith-based community," he said, surrounded by rabbis, imams, priests and pastors from across downstate New York. "We're asking faith-based facilities to partner with local hospitals and local clinics and make the houses of worship vaccine centers."

While about 18 million New Yorkers have been vaccinated, Cuomo said, increasing access has not brought equity.

In the Hudson Valley, 79 percent of the population is white, 14 percent Black and 19 percent Hispanic ethnicity. Of those vaccinated so far in the HV, 86 percent are white, 8 percent Black and 13 percent Hispanic. On Long Island, 80 percent of the population is white, 11 percent Black and 17 percent Hispanic. Of those vaccinated so far on LI, 85 percent are white, 6 percent are Black and 9 percent are Hispanic.

"That discrepancy has to be remedied," Cuomo said.

Rev. Frankin Richardson, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon and head of the National Conference of Black Churches, noted that COVID-19 killed Blacks at twice the rate of whites across the United States.

"COVID magnified that painful truth — racism is a public health crisis," Richardson said, adding that the new campaign fulfills Cuomo's "promise that those who were first in line to die from COVID will not be the last in line to get the vaccine."

Richardson announced the expansion of vaccine eligibility to people age 50. Up until Monday, the threshold mandated that only people 60 and older could be vaccinated.

Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard said now that the state had lowered the eligible age she planned to be at Grace Baptist first thing Tuesday morning to get her shot.

She applauded the state health department's plan to deploy the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Mount Vernon, because it will allow public health efforts to reach the homebound and the homeless more quickly and thoroughly.

The news briefing brought the Rev. Al Sharpton in by zoom. Sharpton called on faith-based institutions across the country to become vaccine centers.

SEE ALSO: Coronavirus Vaccination Eligibility Opens To People 50 And Over