By Camryn Sanchez
Mayor Spano hosted a Facebook live event on Dec. 15 with local government and health officials to discuss the future of COVID-19, and the two upcoming vaccines.
Currently, Yonkers is struggling to keep its COVID-19 infection rates down. “Our numbers are probably growing a little quicker than any of us had anticipated especially this past weekend,” said Spano. He reminded viewers to continue to be vigilant about wearing masks, and social distancing.
Most of the discussion however centered on positive news: Yonkers is getting COVID-19 vaccines.
The Pfizer vaccine was authorized this past Thursday by the FDA, and the Moderna vaccine is expected to be authorized next Thursday according to Dr. Dial Hewlett, deputy commissioner at the Westchester County Department of Health. Hewlett stated that the first recipients of the vaccine will be the county’s “front line health care professionals and other who are caring directly for patients,” followed by the county’s senior citizens, at-risk residents, and essential workers.
Each vaccine has a high rate of effectiveness between 94.5-95 percent which Hewlett compares to the influenza vaccine which at times is only about 60 percent effective, and sometimes lower. Hewlett notes that both vaccines must be administered twice, the Pfizer vaccine after 21 days and the Moderna vaccine after 28.
The Pfizer vaccine also requires added equipment as it must be stored in a cold environment. “Most of the clinics and small practices and even some of the smaller hospitals may not even have the capability to be able to store this vaccine and so we have to make sure that we have the infrastructure in place to do that,” said Hewlett. The Moderna vaccine on the other hand can be stored at a normal temperature and does not require freezers.
In addition to these positive developments, Hewlett and infectious disease specialist Dr. Rajanish Bobde urge Yonkers residents to stay cautious. “It is going to take quite a while before we get to that 70 percent or higher that we would need for herd immunity, and moreover … we don’t know if the vaccine will actually prevent people from getting the infection and that they may be able to still pass on infection to others. So we have to urge everyone to continue to wear the face coverings,” said Hewlett.
The doctors also went on to list some of the vaccines potential side effects. Fatigue, muscle aches, and slight headache are common symptoms which trend to last for one day. Muscle tightening is another symptom that may be linked to the vaccines.
The city is excited about the arrival of these vaccines, which the community have been waiting for through these long months, however Spano urges us to keep in mind that COVID-19 cases are still rising. At the time of the meeting on December 15th, Yonkers had 12,429 cases which Spano stated was an increase of 1,500 since only last Friday. Yonkers City Council President Mike Khader said: “For the county to recover from this pandemic, Yonkers needs to recover from this pandemic. And while we’re looking forward we still have to deal with the current pandemic and crisis.”
