EDITOR'S NOTE:
It is now 30 days since we wanted to ask Mayor Bill de Blasio if there was any link to election day where people were on long lines outside and inside poll sites next to each other, with up to fifty people inside a poll site, and the rise in COVID-19 indicators that began rising two weeks after election day.
Why won't we be called on by your moderator when they have called on other reporters two, three four, and even five times in the past 30 days? What are you afraid that I will ask you Mayor de Blasio?
Mayor Bill de Blasio: Good morning, everyone. What a beautiful day in New York City today, what an amazing day, the day we have been waiting for, the day we dreamed of. A lot of people didn't know if this day would come. A lot of people doubted, but this day is here. The vaccine is here in New York City. The vaccine will be given out from this day forward. From this day forward, the vaccine will be distributed, and we will turn the tide on the coronavirus. This is a day to celebrate, and what a fitting beginning to the day that our health care heroes were in the spotlight, the folks who saw us through this whole crisis. What a good day that they're getting the respect they deserve for all they've done for us. So, the first person to get the shot here in New York City, the first person vaccinated, critical care nurse, Sandra Lindsay. And Sandra, boy, I was so impressed, Sandra didn't even flinch during that shot. But here she is, someone who has been protecting people in Queens, the epicenter of the crisis saving lives. How fitting that she was the first to get the vaccination. Well administered by Dr. Michelle Chester, Long Island Jewish Hospital in Queens, part of the Northwell system. And everyone, everyone in our health care system, we salute you. All our health care heroes, we thank you. We're going to protect you so you can protect all of us. So, what an amazing day and the vaccine is here, and it will be distributed starting today. You're going to start to see more and more people get it. Remember it starts to be effective even from the first vaccination and fully affected with the second.
So, we now begin, today, the largest vaccination effort in the history of New York City today is a historic day for many reasons. In New York City history, this will be remembered as the day where the largest mobilization ever was undertaken to protect the people of this city, the largest vaccination effort in our history. Now we're going to use every tool at our disposal. Our Vaccine Command Center will lead the way, every single City agency, every City employee will be a part of this to make sure that all New Yorkers are served. This is going to be a huge undertaking, but nowhere is there the ability and the strength and the know-how more than New York City to get something like this done. And particularly at our Health Department that has led the way over decades, generations, in doing vaccination on a large scale to protect the people of the city. Here to tell you more about it, our Health Commissioner, Dr. Dave Chokshi –
Commissioner Dave Chokshi, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. We've said before that the cavalry is on the way. Good news, of course. But we must acknowledge that it is a slow and steady march. To start, let me try to break down the coming days based on what we know and what we don't yet know. So, here's what we know about the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. First, leading scientists have confirmed that it is a very good vaccine in terms of safety and ability to protect against COVID-19 illness. I, myself, have poured over the studies, including what was released last week. Second, the first New York City bound vaccine shipments departed from Kalamazoo, Michigan yesterday in special cartons, held at minus 70 degrees. They will travel via UPS and FedEx, both by truck and by plane. Third, Pfizer equipped the coolers with GPS enabled thermal sensors so the temperature can be monitored, and the vaccines tracked, to ensure they are received safely. If there are any problems with the shipments, Pfizer will notify us immediately. Fourth, our first vaccines are arriving today at five hospitals. That means that vaccines will become vaccinations today in New York City. Subsequent shipments are expected at 37 hospitals on Tuesday, and two more hospitals on Wednesday. Fifth, hospitals are ready and waiting for the vaccine. And after the initial vaccinations, the data will be reported to our citywide immunization registry within 24 hours of administration so we can securely keep track of who is getting the vaccine. Now, beyond the logistics, let me just take a moment to acknowledge what a remarkable and poignant milestone in our fight against COVID-19.
And now here are a few things that remain unknown. First, we don't yet know whether the Pfizer vaccine works for children under the age of 16. The FDA authorization was for ages 16 and up. Second, this week, the Moderna vaccine is expected to get a similar FDA review as the Pfizer vaccine did. We don't know the detailed results yet, but depending on them, the FDA's emergency authorization could come as soon as Friday. Third, we don't know our overall allotment of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for New York City over the coming months. But we have been told to plan for approximately 465,000 doses over weeks one, two, and three. Throughout the process, we will be communicating with hospitals to answer questions and share updated guidance. We will also be monitoring incoming data, preparing subsequent orders, and working with community partners to spread facts and foresight.
While help is on the way, I'd like to add one thing. We remain in a state of emergency. If your house is on fire, you don't stay among the flames waiting for the fire department to arrive. You take the steps needed to stay safe. So, until every last ember is extinguished, we're asking you to stay safe by masking up, staying home if you feel ill, keeping your distance, washing your hands, and getting tested. We are still in this together. And the core four precautions are what will keep you, your friends, and your family healthy. When it's my turn, I look forward to rolling up my sleeves to receive the vaccine. Until then I'm taking heart in the fact that my hospital colleagues are getting one more layer of protection and I'll keep taking the steps that I can to protect them as well as others, particularly those who are at greatest risk. Thank you.
Mayor: Thank you so much, Dr. Chokshi. And yes, our hospitals have been preparing for this day. The folks who protect all of us have been getting ready. Nowhere has that been more true than in our public hospitals and clinics, Health + Hospitals, we depend on so much in this city. And Health + Hospitals hospitals were bearing the brunt of this crisis during that time when we were the epicenter. They were going through some of the toughest realities. So, they know, they are battle veterans. They know how important it is to distribute this vaccine and get it right. Here to tell you about all the efforts being made in our public hospital system, CEO of Health + Hospitals, Dr. Mitch Katz.
President and CEO Mitchell Katz, NYC Health + Hospitals: Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. Thank you for your continued support of the public hospital system. Without you, I think several years ago, when Health + Hospitals was so close to financial ruin, there would be no Health + Hospitals system. But you saved it, and I think it's proven what a great investment that is, and it’s really risen to the occasion. I want people to understand how difficult it is to be a doctor or a nurse in the midst of a pandemic. You’re wearing all of your gear but you're still worried, is this infection going to come home with me, am I going to get sick, am I going to bring this infection home to my children, to my spouse? And then, all of a sudden, you're intubating a fellow nurse – your charge nurse, the nurse who kept you safe. You're intubating a fellow doctor. You work beside her for all the weeks of the pandemic, what a horrible, horrible thing. And I'm so pleased that everyone recognizes that the health care workers should be at the top of the list. They've done their job. They're continuing to do their job. They need to be protected. They need to be kept healthy so that they do not go out sick, but can be there for all of us if we should need their help at hospitalization. And we're very proud of Health + Hospitals being able to receive the vaccine, we've been preparing for it. We will be focusing in the first weeks on those people who are at the highest risk of being exposed to COVID in the hospital. Those are people who are working with patients who have a breathing tube. That breathing tube causes more virus to be in the air. Because of that, we want the nurses, the ICU nurses, the respiratory therapists, the anesthesiologist, the emergency room doctors, we want them to be vaccinated first. We look forward to with the Mayor and Dr. Chokshi to being part of the broader effort after we've done the health care workers to do the broad population of New York City.
There is no more trusted provider to the low-income communities of New York City than Health + Hospitals. We take care of over a million people a year – 400,000, choose us as their primary source of care. We are known in the immigrant communities as a safe place to be cared for, a place where you will not get crippling bills, a place where no one will report you, a place where if you're homeless and poor you'll be treated with dignity and respect. And we look forward to being part of that effort. And, Mr. Mayor, we agree – Dr. Chokshi and you – that until then, we'll all do our best to stay safe.
Mayor: Amen. Amen. Thank you so much, Dr. Katz, to you and your whole team for everything you're doing to protect us. Hey, everyone, look, we, in this city, we're going to show the world once again what New York City can do. We're going to be distributing this vaccine quickly and effectively. We're also going to be doing it equitably. We're going to be doing it fairly for the folks who need it the most, for the neighborhoods that need it. The most our command center is going to lead the way to make sure things keep moving and that things are done the right way. But, in the meantime, just as we get this amazing, good news, we are dealing with this second wave here in New York City. We are not done yet with the coronavirus. So, let's celebrate today. Let's be hopeful. It is a shot of hope. Let's be clear, it's not just a shot in the medical sense, it's a shot of hope. But we have to keep fighting this virus in the meantime. So, we remain vigilant. We're going to have a tough December, a tough January. You heard the doctor say continue to take those precautions so that we can move forward.
Now, one of the precautions the State of New York made a decision, and I agree with that decision, was to tighten up some of our restrictions. And, as of this morning, indoor dining is no longer in effect in New York City for the foreseeable future. Again, the more we fight back against the disease, the more the vaccine is distributed, that situation will change, and sooner rather than later, I believe. But those restrictions are in effect now. Indoor dining is not happening, but outdoor dining continues, takeout and delivery continue. Look, the folks who work in our restaurant industry, they've been through hell, let's be clear. I feel for every one of them, I feel for the folks who created a restaurant with their bare hands, had an idea, made it happen, employed people. I feel for hundreds or thousands or more New Yorkers working in the industry right now, and so many more that used to. We've got to bring this industry back. We've got to bring back the restaurants we love, but it's going to take time. In the meantime, we’ve got to stay safe, because this second wave is very, very real. So, we need to protect each other. We need people to be alive so they can next year feel what it's like to go back to eating indoors and celebrating our holidays with our families. We’ve got to protect people now. And if we're really going to have that recovery we deserve, we need that stimulus. Still, no clear direction coming from Washington, but we're going to keep fighting for a stimulus that actually allows the small businesses in New York City to recover, and the renters in New York City to recover, and the people of New York city to recover, and our economy to come back. That's what we'll keep fighting for. That's what we need. We need it now and we're going to need it when Joe Biden steps into the White House as our president.
Okay. Quick update – obviously, as we continue so much important work, one of the really bright spots has been our public schools. Our kids are safe. Our educators and staff are safe. Learning is going on right now in New York City – 878 schools opened in the course of last week. We are going to make sure that those schools remain safe, but we're also going to systematically move those schools to five-day-a-week education for as many kids as possible in as many schools as possible. Each school will be different, but we're going to keep you updated each week on how that progress is going. So, we're one week into it. And this week we'll have about 250 schools where kids will be going five days a week, either all kids or most kids, or, at minimum, the priority kids we've talked about – kids who live in shelter, kids who live in public housing, kids with special needs. So, five-day-a-week education, growing week by week in New York City. You're going to be seeing a lot more as we move forward. We'll keep you updated. But, really, credit to our educators, credit to the staff, everyone working so hard to make sure our kids get as many days in school as possible.
All right, let's go over today's indicators. Number one, daily number of people admitted to New York City hospitals for suspected COVID-19 – today's report is 185 patients. It’s under our threshold of 200, that's the good news, but it's still way too high and it's been a tough stretch lately, obviously. A new indicator that we have, the hospitalization rate per 100,000 people – 2.73 today. We want to get that under two. Second, we're going over every day now both the probable and confirmed cases of the coronavirus on a seven-day average. Today’s number, a very high number, 2,137. Again, we want to stay under 550. It's going to take us a long time to get back there, but we will. Number three, this is the percentage of New York City residents testing positive, seven-day rolling average – today's report, 5.5 percent. We want to get back under five and then keep going – lower, lower all the time – and the vaccine is going to be leading the way.
