Despite entering Tuesday below the 70% vaccination threshold, the Bronx is continuing to curb the spread of the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus, according to latest COVID-19 metrics released by the state.
Although the Bronx has the second-lowest vaccination total in the city with 66.8% of its population receiving at least one dose, the borough has averaged 180 new confirmed COVID cases per day, which continues a downward trend in positivity rate for the fourth week in a row.
Entering Tuesday, the northernmost borough of New York City has had 197,775 confirmed COVID-19 cases, a number dwarfed by Queens and Brooklyn, which have case totals of 322,815 and 305,926, respectively.
The Morris Park 10461 zip code had the borough’s highest seven-day caseload, with 10.2 cases per 100,000 residents, which is higher than the city’s median average of 8.6 cases per 100,000 residents. But Morris Park’s 10461 zip code also has the Bronx’s highest vaccination rate with 77.6%.
Three other Bronx zip codes — Riverdale’s 10471 (77.3%), Parkchester’s 10462 (75.4) and City Island’s 10464 (74.3%) — continue to outpace the rest of the borough with vaccination rates above 70%.
During his daily COVID-19 briefing, outgoing Democratic NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio noted positives in the city’s ongoing comeback from the height of the pandemic, citing improvements in the housing market, the recovery of more than half a million jobs and six consecutive months of declining unemployment rates.
The city’s mandatory vaccines for public school educators have also been seen as a success, with more than 97% of NYC teachers vaccinated, according to United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew. Less than 4,000 teachers remain unvaccinated.
Additionally, the Pfizer vaccine for kids could be on the market in about a month after the drugmaker filed for FDA authorization on Oct. 7, for their shot for kids ages 5 to 11. The city, however, has not committed to a vaccination mandate for students who are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Reach Robbie Sequeira at rsequeira@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4599. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter @bronxtimes and Facebook @bronxtimes.
