The Washington Heights vaccination site prohibits outside residents. Now we have to woo the locals.

Following reports earlier this week that commuters were flocking to the Fort Washington Armory in Manhattan to be vaccinated, a new policy was put in place requiring all who book an appointment at the site to present proof of residence in the five arrondissements.

NewYork-Presbyterian, which operates the site, further clarified that 60% of appointments would be reserved for residents of Washington Heights, Inwood, Harlem and the South Bronx (although all existing appointments for the first and second doses will be honored).

But banning out-of-town residents alone won’t ensure vaccine-eligible residents – now including those 65 and older – get appointments. NewYork-Presbyterian says it works with more than 40 community and faith-based organizations to reach residents of the neighborhoods it is supposed to serve.

“We can use a similar approach to what we did with the census, be in the field and on the streets with a tablet and raise awareness where people are,” said Maria Lizardo, executive director of the Washington Heights nonprofit in upper Manhattan Improvement. Corporation, adding that additional government support is needed to achieve this type of awareness. She believes the people she works with at NewYork-Presbyterian are “well intentioned and want to advocate for the community and are receptive to feedback.”

The controversy over who is first in line in Washington Heights is part of an ongoing discourse on how the city can ensure equitable access to the coronavirus vaccine. Despite Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s insistence that communities most affected by the coronavirus not be left behind, first data in December showed black and Latinx New Yorkers being vaccinated at much lower rates than whites. The mayor said updated demographics would be available this week, but then extended the deadline to Sunday.

Lizardo, who is an ambassador for the Cuomo Vaccine Equity Working Group, noted that there was still a lot more outreach to be done by “trusted messengers on the ground”, both to help people who want to be vaccinated and to provide more information to these people. who are still skeptical.

Other efforts could include proactive appealing of eligible beneficiaries, raising awareness in pantries, and setting up dedicated vaccination hotlines, Lizardo said. But she added that all of this requires additional funding for community groups to hire more people, especially as many nonprofits have been called upon during the pandemic.

For its part, NewYork-Presbyterian has set up a special online portal for local senior centers to make vaccine appointments for their members and has increased the number of daily spots available through the portal since it opened. , said Marcie Gitlin, director of the Center for Adults Living. Well at the YM / YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood. She added that her senior center and others in the area are coordinating transportation for those in need.

“We are very grateful that NewYork-Presbyterian has taken special measures to ensure that people in our neighborhood receive the vaccine,” Gitlin said.

On Thursday, NewYork-Presbyterian also appeared to have addressed the language barrier that reporters at local outlet The City observed when visiting the arsenal earlier in the week. The city said there was no one available to answer questions from Spanish speakers on Tuesday, despite Washington Heights being a predominantly Spanish speaking neighborhood. On Thursday afternoon, staff stationed outside the dockyard could frequently be heard answering questions in Spanish and Spanish speakers leaving the site said they had no problem communicating with health workers at the site. inside.

Still, some locally elected officials have taken to Twitter to call NewYork-Presbyterian for failing to ensure equitable access from the start.

“It shouldn’t take our hospitals weeks to prioritize vaccines for local residents in hard-hit neighborhoods like Washington Heights, let alone provide the basics of language access,” Council member Carlina Rivera tweeted, who chairs the city council hospital committee. “Every system must strive to address the serious inequalities in care associated with COVID-19.”

People who spoke to Gothamist about getting the armory shot on Thursday all said they live in Washington Heights or other parts of the city and reported a stress-free experience by signing up for a date. you, by getting the vaccine and making an appointment for the second dose. . Their experiences provided a stark contrast to the difficulty and confusion some New Yorkers faced when trying to find a date on city-run websites.

But some said they wouldn’t have known about the arsenal without their doctor’s recommendation at NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell or word of mouth.

“It was a surprise that I was able to get the vaccine,” said Victor Leyn, 70, who lives in Washington Heights. “My whole family tried to get a date for me, and they failed for a few weeks in a row.”

Leyn said he was on a nearby appointment with his ophthalmologist earlier today when told he could get an appointment in person at the arsenal. He said he was able to get the vaccine there. (A security guard said people can still sign up for an on-site meeting but not necessarily for the same day.)

“They should put flyers or something like that,” Leyn said. “Information is the key to getting back to normal life.”