Coronavirus Update New York City: NYC could be 'completely out of this within 6 to 8 weeks': Health official

Coronavirus update for NYC

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

NYC COVID: With aggressive vaccination, city optimistic about future

NJ Burkett reports on the vaccination efforts in New York City.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- New York City is celebrating a new milestone in the battle against COVID-19, while a health official says the city "can be completely out of this within six to eight weeks of very aggressive vaccination."

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city has given out more than 4 million doses, with the 4,058,854 total doses more than the total population of Los Angeles.

"We will start comparing to state populations because we have run out of cities to compare," he said.

Mayoral advisor Dr. Jay Varma says he is hopeful the city "can be completely out of this within six to eight weeks of very aggressive vaccination." Varma says that's only if people "double down" on the precautions and not let up now.

"Unfortunately we are not seeing the declines we want to see, so we remain very concerned," Varma cautioned.

De Blasio said he is also concerned about the possibility of a fourth wave in the city, but the rapid pace of vaccinations gives him hope.

He again called some state decisions like fitness classes and indoor athletics for colleges "premature."

"What I would keep saying there is a concern with some of the decisions the state is making," the mayor said. "I think some of them are premature. Certainly the fitness classes was an example of that. I'm concerned the decision they made about indoor athletics for colleges. We think athletics should be focused on outdoor activities for the foreseeable future while we see how the variants play out, so i think there are some decisions that are taking this a little too quickly into areas that its just premature. That would be my concern."

Meanwhile, de Blasio says the city is "hearing good things about the April supply levels and really extraordinary supply in May."

"So that says to me, going into May and June, it's going to be easier and easier for people to get a shot," he said. "Where do we get to a point when we get to more shots than people who want them? I don't know yet. My hope is that hesitancy keeps decreasing, and as supply increases, more and more people get the shot. more and more people know people who get the shot. It went well, hesitancy went down, there's always another person to give a shot to. My sense is that will continue through the summer."