"What will it take?"

Tiffany Capers, Elmont

"The issue here definitely isn't access to the vaccine.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on July 26 that New York state would spend $15 million in an effort to boost coronavirus vaccination rates in areas across the state with the lowest inoculation numbers and higher levels of new cases, including Elmont and 20 other Long Island communities.

The state plans to work with community organizations to reach unvaccinated residents in and 117 zip codes statewide with low vaccination rates. Sixty-one percent of the focus areas are in New York City, and 18 percent are on Long Island, in both Nassau and Suffolk counties. They account for just 6.7 percent of the state’s population, and, Cuomo said, many are socio-economically challenged and largely minority communities.

The Covid-19 positivity rate has risen since last month on Long Island and across the state. As of last Sunday, the daily average number of cases in the state was 3,354, an increase of 127 percent in two weeks, according to New York Times data. Hospitalizations and deaths attributed to the virus have increased as well, although not as dramatically as case counts.

Just 0.015 percent of New Yorkers who have been vaccinated have become infected, Cuomo said two weeks ago, calling the rise in cases a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” With the Delta variant of the virus spreading, accounting for 72 percent of all new cases statewide as of late July, the push for more inoculations in areas with lower rates is seen as crucial to the effort to prevent a major spike in new cases.

“I think if it’s for public safety, we all should be vaccinated,” said Kay Davidson, a resident of Elmont, “unless you have some kind of health condition that you can’t be vaccinated.”

The goal of the new program, Cuomo said, is to foster communication and education about the vaccinations and to enhance vaccine outreach through community organizations rather than relying on a top-down approach led by the state. The funds were to be distributed to groups including the Hispanic Federation, the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, the New York Immigration Coalition, the Asian American Federation, the Charles B. Wang Community Center and the Apicha Community Health Center.

“I think it’s encouraging,” said Tiffany Capers, an Elmont resident since 1998 and a local activist. “I hope residents take advantage of the opportunities.”

While Capers said she was optimistic about the state joining forces with community organizations to promote vaccination in Elmont, she added that she did not expect the hamlet to be a focus of the state effort. “I was quite surprised to see Elmont included in that list,” she said. “There have been so many vaccine events in Elmont, in addition to the local pharmacies offering the vaccine. The issue here definitely isn’t access to the vaccine.”

Capers expressed concern about how the low local vaccination rate can be countered as cases continue to rise nationwide. “I’m not sure what else can be done,” she said of the effort in Elmont. “It baffles me why our numbers aren’t higher.

“I personally have assisted in scheduling hundreds of vaccine appointments for residents,” Capers continued. “We have a plethora of options. Vaccines are available at weekly food drives, drug stores, the high schools have scheduled several events, the elementary school has scheduled Saturday events, [Belmont Park] offers appointments, there are weekend appointments, [and] Northwell and Mount Sinai South Nassau both offer at-home visits for the elderly.”

She repeated a question that many are asking as Covid-19 cases continue to rise against across the country: “What will it take?”