February 4, 2021: Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
Dear Colleagues,
Vaccinations are continuing today, February 4th.
Thank you to all the staff and volunteers who administered vaccines during challenging weather conditions this week!
The Armory site is open today and tomorrow and will be closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday. NYC residents in Groups 1A and 1B are eligible to be vaccinated there. In addition, all first doses for CUIMC employees in Group 1A are being administered at The Armory.
Second doses of the Pfizer vaccine are being administered to CUIMC employees in the Myrna Daniels Auditorium today. Second doses of the Moderna vaccine are not being administered this week.
Hours for The Armory, Myrna Daniels, and Workforce Health and Safety are posted here and are updated as changes occur:
As of today, over 43,000 faculty, staff, and students at NewYork-Presbyterian, Weill Cornell, and Columbia have received their first dose of the vaccine. There have also been over 32,000 second doses administered. This includes over 26,000 first and second doses administered on the CUIMC campus alone.
Patient and Community Vaccinations at the Armory
At this time, per NYS guidelines, we are vaccinating people in Groups 1A and 1B who live in NYC. Group 1B includes anyone age 65 and over who lives in New York City. All existing appointments, including those for second vaccination doses, will be fully honored, even if the individual does not live in NYC.
For those who meet these eligibility criteria outlined above, appointments can be made through Connect and appointment availability can be checked on the VaccineTogetherNY.org site. Information is also available at 646.697.VACC.
Other vaccination sites in NYC and in NYS can be found here:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The FAQ documents on the CUIMC COVID Vaccine Information page continue to be updated, so please check the site for the latest versions. Below are some Questions of the Day that relate to topics raised in recent Town Halls:
What is v-safe and how do I register for it ?
V-safe is a voluntary program that monitors reactions after COVID-19 vaccination. It is a smartphone-based tool developed by the CDC and uses text messaging and web surveys to provide personalized health check-ins after you receive a COVID-19 vaccine. You can register at https://vsafe.cdc.gov/.
What was the percentage of Black people included in the vaccine trials? Is there information about how many people with comorbidities and autoimmune diseases were included in the mRNA vaccine trials?
The FDA specifically wanted the participants in the COVID-19 vaccine trials to be diverse. Thus, both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine trials were designed to increase the number of persons from racial and ethnic minorities, as well as those with medical conditions (e.g., chronic lung disease, cardiac disease, severe obesity, diabetes, HIV, etc.) that placed them at higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease. Approximately 9-10% of participants were Black/African-American (close to the approximately 13% of Americans who are Black/African-American), 21-28% of participants were Hispanic, and 21-22% of participants had the medical conditions as above. The vaccine safety (side effects/reactions) and efficacy were similar in all of these subgroups.
Thank you and stay safe!
Magda Sobieszczyk MD, MPH
Chief of Infectious Diseases and Co-Chair of the CUIMC COVID-19 Vaccine Committee
Melissa Stockwell MD, MPH
Chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Health and Co-Chair of the CUIMC COVID-19 Vaccine Committee