How To Vax 23.5K More New Haveners?

More than 61 percent of New Haveners over the age of 12 have gotten at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The city’s next challenge on the path to ​“herd immunity”: Convincing at least 23,500 more city residents to get a shot or two in the arm.

Mayor Justin Elicker, city Health Director Maritza Bond, and other top city officials discussed that data, and those vaccination strategies, during a Wednesday afternoon virtual press conference held online via Zoom.

Bond said that a total of 67,713 New Haveners have gotten at least an initial dose of the Covid-19 vaccine so far, and 61,340 have been fully vaccinated (either through the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson.)

That puts roughly 61.1 percent of New Haven’s vaccine-eligible population — that is, those 12 years old and up — as having gotten at least one shot.

Roughly 55.3 percent of eligible city residents are fully vaccinated.

These vaccination levels are the highest among Connecticut’s big cities, she said.

“Our goal is to make sure that we do not have another loss of life when something [as effective as the Covid-19 vaccine] is accessible.”

Bond said the city hopes to convince at least 23,500 more New Haveners to get vaccinated. That would put the city near the 70 percent ​“herd immunity” threshold, at which point enough of the population is vaccinated that the continued spread of the novel coronavirus is stopped in its tracks.

(Update: In a follow up email Wednesday afternoon, Bond told the Independent that 70 percent is the minimum threshold for herd, or ​“community,” immunity. “[T]he real percentage of residents who need to be vaccinated to generate community immunity may be closer to 80 percent,” she wrote. ​“This would increase the number of residents who need to be vaccinated to 40,000. The Delta variant could affect this estimate as well.”)

So how to reach those who remain reluctant?

Bond, city arts & culture director Adriane Jefferson, and city emergency operations chief Rick Fontana detailed a few city strategies for getting shots in arms. Those include:

• Pop-up vaccination clinics at a Forbes Avenue gas station on Saturday, at the Saint Paul’s Union African Methodist Episcopal Church on Chapel Street Thursday July 15, and at the Transformerz Barbershop on Whalley Avenue Friday the 16th.

• A range of ​“incentives” at each of these pop-ups for those coming to get their first shot. Those include $10 worth of free gas at the Forbes clinic and $25 for eligible youth who get their first shot at the Chapel Street church.

• Re-occurring vaccine clinics by Long Wharf’s Food Truck Paradise every weekend, at Lighthouse Park every day through the end of August, and on the New Haven Green every day through the end of August. These clinics will also provide $10 incentives for first-comers.

• Two new videos spearheaded by Jefferson’s arts & culture division. One video will be targeted towards teens who want to get vaccinated and need parental consent, the second towards those 18 and up who remain hesitant. Jefferson said her division will also be launching a ​“Did You Know?” health literacy and education campaign, and will be partnering with local ​“influencers” to get the word out about vaccines. ​“Our approach is we don’t want people to feel like we’re forcing them” to get a shot, Jefferson said. But rather to provide people with all of the information they need in order to make an informed decision on the matter.

• Fontana said that the FEMA mobile vaccination unit will be stationed in Edgewood Park 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Sunday. ​“This is the last time that we will see this unit in the State of Connecticut,” he said. On Tuesday, he said, the mobile unit vaccinated 201 individuals, including 25 walk-ups.

Bond said that the city’s vaccination efforts have been effective so far in dramatically reducing the spread of Covid in the city. Over the past two weeks, she said, New Haven has reported only 38 new Covid cases.

“We’ve made incredible progress, but we’re not out of the woods yet,” Elicker said.

“When you compare the work we’ve done to most of our counterparts in other large cities, we’re doing quite well on Covid recovery, vaccinations, and economic recovery. Our team is working to make it as easy as possible for people to get vaccinated.”

Click here for more information on where to get vaccinated in New Haven.