70% Of Adult NYers Have Now Received COVID Vaccine

NEW YORK CITY — Seven out of 10 of New York City's adults have rolled up their sleeves for at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city hit the 70 percent vaccination milestone Thursday.

“That’s a really big deal,” he said. “That explains why we’re able to keep moving forward with our recovery.”

But even as de Blasio celebrated hitting the goal President Joe Biden had hoped to reach nationwide by July 4, the more-contagious Delta variant of coronavirus continued its spread mostly among the city's still-sizable unvaccinated corners.

The city now averages 644 new cases of COVID-19 per day on average, de Blasio said. That's roughly three times what numbers were just a few short weeks ago.

And coronavirus positivity now stands at 2.06 percent, the highest point since May, data shows.

De Blasio stressed that positivity is likely skewed by overall fewer tests being conducted.

"This is an area we're going to be talking about next week, when a positivity is not showing us what it used to because so few people are getting tested now and we're getting more of a skewed result here," he said. "What we're going to be focusing on going forward is going to be hospitalization rate, vaccination rate, cases — those are the things we're going to be talking about more and more because that's what's telling us most truthfully and clearly what's going on."

But, still, health officials are concerned the Delta variant could cause a "pandemic of the unvaccinated" nationwide.

De Blasio has doubled down on vaccinations as a weapon to fight the Delta variant. This week, he announced the city will mandate that its public health care workers — about 60 percent of whom are vaccinated —must either get the vaccine or submit to weekly tests.

Other city workers soon could face a similar mandate, he hinted.

De Blasio has shown increasing frustration with New Yorkers who still refuse to receive the vaccine against the advice of medical experts.

When asked Thursday about NYPD officers, firefighters and other public workers who are avoiding the vaccine because they believe they have an immunity after contracting COVID-19, de Blasio could barely contain his agitation.

"This is in the category of give me a bleeping break," he said. "When did everyone get a medical degree? Yeah, I'm sick of everyone armchair saying that they know more than the doctors. With all due respect, it's a free country. People have an entitlement to their opinion but give me a break. Listen to the doctors who have been protecting you and saving the lives of your family and your community. They're telling you with one voice, get vaccinated. So, could we stop the amateurishness, you know, like this is just got to end."

Dave Chokshi, the city's health commissioner, noted he himself received the coronavirus vaccine after falling ill with COVID-19.

"Our clear message is even if you have been previously infected with COVID, you should get vaccinated once you have recovered," Chokshi said. "The reason for this is that we know that vaccination strengthens the protection that you will receive, and it may further extend that duration of your immunity as well. This is particularly important with the Delta variant because we know that mounting a stronger immune response gives you more protection against the Delta variant and some of the other variants that are emerging."