Push For COVID Vaccinations Grows As Cases Climb Again
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- As COVID cases continue to climb, the push for vaccinations is also growing.
"The only way we're going to get rid of this thing for all of us to do this," said Gail Tweedy, of Parkchester, the Bronx.
A first shot of the Pfizer vaccine finally happened Saturday for Tweedy. She was weighing her options for many months.
"I waited because I had COVID, and I had a little blood clots in my fingers and my toes, and I was concerned with some of the vaccines," she said.
The 71-year-old said it was the Delta variant and increasing numbers of cases and hospitalizations that convinced her.
"I will do whatever I need to do to keep my family and friends safe," Tweedy said.
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On the way to get her shot inside the basement of Saint Helena Catholic Church, she used a shortcut through the center of a street fair hosted by Father David Powers and his congregation.
There, CBS2's Dave Carlin found Jetane Webster with her daughter, Jaliea, and son, Juju.
Webster, who works in health care, is fully vaccinated, but the kids, at 9 and 3 years old, are too young for COVID vaccines.
"It is confusing. A lot of people around me don't have it or don't want to get it," Webster said.
"What do you tell them? Because you have gotten it," CBS2's Dave Carlin asked.
"I just tell them I was fine," Webster said.
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The vaccine push intensifies even more, adding to it the backing of booster shots for some.
Some Biden administration health officials increasingly think vulnerable populations may need booster shots.
There is no recommendation yet, but it could be on the horizon for those age 65 and older or who have compromised immune systems.
"I got mine back in January, so I've already been almost six months with it, so for me, if it's going to be a case that the CDC is really recommending it ... I'm probably going to follow it," Powers said.
As the federal government considers the booster question, it is exercising an option with its contract with Pfizer to purchase another 200 million doses for delivery this fall and in the spring of 2022.