COVID-19 rates fell to an all-time low in New York City on Wednesday, due in no small part to the ongoing vaccination effort, Mayor Bill de Blasio reported Thursday.
The citywide 7-day positivity rate for June 2 dropped to 0.81%, an all-time record since the first COVID-19 case was officially detected in New York City on March 1, 2020.
“It’s stunning how much progress has been made,” the mayor said during his morning briefing. He noted that the city’s positivity levels have plunged by 95% since the start of 2021, with COVID-19 hospitalizations also down 69% during the first five months of the year.
It’s all due, de Blasio stressed, to the vaccination effort in the five boroughs which has seen 8,373,820 shots injected into the arms of New Yorkers in every borough. More than half the city’s population is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and the city is working to make sure the rest of the city is protected.
That includes a major effort to vaccinate children between 12 and 17 years of age. On Friday, the city will begin providing the vaccine at some public schools in the Bronx. De Blasio said the school vaccination program will eventually expand citywide.
“We’re going to see if this is the kind of approach that helps us reach more and more young people,” the mayor said.
The city’s also bringing mobile vaccination buses to popular nightlife destinations across the city. Between June 2-3, the buses will be located outside clubs in Downtown Brooklyn and the West Village.
De Blasio said this effort looks to target “zilennials” who can receive the vaccine while enjoying a night out in the city. He’s sending his son, Dante de Blasio, out to help encourage young New Yorkers to roll up their sleeves and help protect the city, and each other.
