New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is urging adults in the city over the age of 75 to get vaccinated against Covid-19 amid deteriorating age trends.
Eligibility for vaccination is ultimately approved by government officials. The state currently has a five-phase vaccination priority plan. The first two phases give priority to healthcare professionals, long-term care patients and other key professionals. Adults older than 65 years are under phase 3 of the plan.
The mayor said he hopes to start a pre-registration of seniors at some of the available vaccination centers in the city.
New York Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi added that 6% of all cases in the past 30 days are older than 75, but 30% of hospitalizations and 58% of deaths are among people aged 75 and older. The percentage of positivity also increases in this category.
“I believe New Yorkers 75 years and older should be eligible as soon as possible,” Chokshi said, adding that “several states have already put older adults first.”
Overall, New York City reported an additional 3,845 cases on an average of 7 days, which Blasio said was “completely too high.” The city also recorded a “big jump” in patients admitted to hospitals with the alleged Covid-19, with the mayor indicating 279 in Wednesday’s report.
De Blasio said he was hopeful the impact of the holiday season would abate over the next few weeks, leading to an improvement in Covid-19 numbers.
New York City was the U.S. epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic in March, with hospitals struggling to cope with the influx of patients.
After an easier summer, the city is now experiencing an increasing number of infections and new restrictions have been imposed.