VaxMobile administers vaccines in Hempstead, celebrates 5,000th dose delivered
Residents say they are also being vaccinated now because of the proximity of the vaccine
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Aug 6, 2021, 11:17 AM
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Updated 1,085 days ago
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The VaxMobile headed to Hempstead
Town Hall and celebrated its 5,000th dose
administered.
There has been an increase in the amount of people getting vaccinated as
employers are beginning to mandate vaccines or have workers be tested weekly.
Joe Calderone of Mount Sinai South Nassau says he thinks people are getting vaccinated due to
concerns over the delta variant.
“We are also getting closer to back to school even though it’s August,”
Calderone says. “And people are looking ahead to school reopening, so I think
all those factors combined, we are starting to see a steady flow, which is
great."
Calderone says the VaxMobile has been
on the road for over four months.
He says a proposal for the vehicle was put in November before a vaccine was
even given emergency approval.
“We’re going to stay
on this until we get everyone vaccinated,” Calderone says. “This is a
house-to-house fight, but we've got to get
it done.”
Spencer Smith, 15, of Hewlett, is one of more than 5,000 people who got vaccinated at the Vaxmobile.
"I think it's a safe thing to do especially going back to school with sports and everything," says Smith.
Michelle Smith, Spencer's mom, says with numbers ramping up they were a little concerned.
Statewide hospitalizations have hit 1,000 and new coronavirus infections on Long Island have hit 600 a day.
"Those that are vaccinated have had mild cases and we've been able to get them out of the hospital in a very timely fashion," says Dr. Evangelos Loukas, of Northwell Health.
Hempstead town officials say they're also seeing more and more young people getting the COVID-19 shot.
"I would assume within the next three days if you're going back to school, you really want to get vaccinated," says Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony D'Esposito. "That's really the cutoff because you're gonna need that second dose before you get back to school."
To help in that effort, Nassau County also announced that it is adding vaccination pods in some of its buildings to allow for its employees and families to get the vaccine.
According to New York state, 84% of adults over 18 have had at least one dose of the vaccine. In Suffolk, 76% of people over 18 have had one dose.
The VaxMobile will be in Valley Stream on Monday and then will make stops in West Hempstead, Uniondale and Long Beach.
