Schumer: More Help Is On The Way For New Yorkers Who Want COVID Vaccine, With Extra Focus on Underserved, Minority Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Announcing a brand new ‘vaccine supercharge’ for New York, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said, today, that a huge influx of COVID vaccines from the federal government are on the way, along with a massive expansion of federally-funded vaccine sites (more than 100 across New York) that will utilize New York’s existing Community Health Centers (CHCs) to help get them into arms.

“The people of New York have had a tough, tough year amid the pandemic but the light at the end of the tunnel has always been centered on access to a free vaccine for all New Yorkers, and the good news is: lots of New Yorkers want a vaccine,” said Senator Schumer. “Now, the better news is: more vaccines and better access to vaccine sites are on the way via a supercharge effort that will utilize New York’s Community Health Centers (CHC) as federally-funded vaccine sites to get more shots into more arms.”

“More access and more shots means a quicker recovery, and that’s what we want,” he said.

These CHC sites will be federally-funded and organized by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an effort to expand the CHC vaccine program, which works to increase vaccine availability and access in underserved and minority communities where access to vaccines has been a major challenge.

“Remember, one of the biggest issues with getting people vaccinated has been access,” added Schumer. “Especially in our underserved and disadvantaged communities. We’ve heard numerous stories of people having to travel way too far to get a vaccine, hampering our ability to recover from the pandemic and return to ‘normal.’ With this announcement of more vaccines and the sites poised to open up, New York is positioned to get more shots in arms, especially in areas where COVID has hit the hardest.”

The program and sites will be funded by nearly $32 billion that Schumer secured for vaccine distribution, procurement and administration in the December relief bill. All the CHC sites are eligible to become vaccine administration sites, but must elect to participate in the program and receive the vaccines from New York’s Community Health Center parent organizations, who will determine which sites will get vaccines.

The vaccines these health centers receive will be sent directly from the federal government to the CHCs and be in addition to the weekly vaccine allocation sent to New York State; exact allocation numbers will be announced in the coming days as CHCs across the state formally agree to participate in the program.

One-in-nine New Yorkers receive care at a Community Health Center, which guarantee access to care for the most vulnerable New Yorkers. Of those New Yorkers that receive care at CHCs, 89% are low income and 71% are people of color, making this initiative the largest effort to date to address the problem of slow vaccine distribution in minority communities. Black New Yorkers have received 8% of vaccines thus far, despite having 23% of deaths and making up 16% of the total population, Hispanic New Yorkers have received 9% of vaccines, despite having 23% of deaths and making up 19% of the total population.

Schumer’s announcement comes on the heels of delivering the second largest stimulus bill in the nation’s history – to the tune of $100 billion for New York state’s workers and families – via the American Rescue Plan, which he led to passage in the Senate and was just signed by President Biden.

New York’s new vaccine sites will be part of approximately 700 CHC parent organizations and 4000 individual CHC sites nationally that are eligible to become vaccine administration sites. As this information is breaking, a list of all the CHCs in New York that are eligible is forthcoming. New York’s 70-plus CHCs provide care for New Yorkers at more than 800 locations across the state. CHCs are a “one-stop shop” for health care, providing high quality primary and preventive care and support services to all New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status, insurance coverage, or ability to pay. Each CHC has a Board of Directors comprised primarily of people who live in the communities they serve, according to the Community Heath Care Association of New York.

Below is the list of newly eligible Community Health Center Systems across New York State that operate over 200 eligible sites:

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