ROADMAP TO JUMPSTART NEW YORK CITY VACCINATION RATES

Levine proposes steps necessary to vaccinate the 2nd half of New York City, combat vaccine hesitancy and rate stagnation

For all the hard-won progress NYC has made in vaccination, nearly half of adults here have not yet received their first shot. And the pace of vaccination has fallen dramatically in recent weeks. As the city moves quickly to full reopening, our progress is imperiled by the dramatic slow-down in vaccination.

NYC needs to act aggressively to reverse this trend. Councilmember Mark Levine, Chair of the City Council Health Committee, is calling for a multi-front strategy to boost vaccination.

1. Develop a vaccination certification system to get New Yorkers back to work: In consultation with organized labor, the City should develop a vaccination certification system and require that people show proof of vaccination or a recent negative test if they wish to enter a building or other congregate workplace. This will both help keep New Yorkers safe as well as serve as a powerful incentive for New Yorkers who want to return to their daily lives to get the vaccine. New Yorkers must already provide proof of vaccination or a negative test result at Citi Field, Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden, and Barclay’s Center. This strategy should be expanded to every government building, and private employers should be encouraged to employ a similar strategy as well.

The City’s certification system should be available by app, and paper proof — such as a vaccination card — should be acceptable as well. The app should be developed with a little data collection as possible, and should not store personal information in a central database.

The success of our vaccination efforts will also depend on a strong grassroots and communication campaign. This campaign must include:

1. A robust, well-funded vaccination field campaign. Vaccine availability is less of an issue than earlier this year, yet many New Yorkers are not scheduling vaccination appointments. This could be due to a number of reasons, including language barriers, no internet access, or even hesitancy to get a vaccine due to misinformation. New York City must meet New Yorkers where they are. Grassroots organizers, elected officials, and government entities have experience running the type of campaign that is needed, complete with door knocking, phone banking, and street canvasses. By partnering with community-led mutual aid networks we can reach New Yorkers in their own community and bring the vaccine to them. The City ran an extraordinarily robust and effective campaign during census outreach, contracting with 150 nonprofits and community-based organizations, and that model should be replicated. This is the field campaign of our lives.
2. Incentivize New Yorkers to get the vaccine: Despite the City’s hesitancy to do so, recent vaccination rates have shown the need for an incentive program to get people vaccinated. The City should design a “Vax-Bucks” program that provides 100 “Vax Bucks,” on a prepaid debit card, redeemable at participating local small businesses and arts institutions. This program will not only incentivize New Yorkers to get vaccinated, but will also stimulate local business growth and recovery.
3. Make the vaccine ubiquitous; mobile units in every neighborhood, prioritizing low vaccination-rate neighborhoods at a hyper-local level. Increasing vaccination rates will require making the vaccine ubiquitous, particularly with access in hyper-local communities that may be hesitant or thus far unable to get vaccinated. We must deploy mobile teams of vans, buses, and organizers to specific businesses, residences, community centers, access to the vaccine at every doctor’s office, and other hyper-local locations to offer more opportunities to get vaccinated without an appointment.