Just 29% of residents in NYC neighborhood Far Rockaway have been vaccinated against Covid

In the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens, New York, one in 146 people has died of COVID - one of the highest death rates in the city. Pictured: Registered nurse Anna Yadgaro, right, talks to Juana Mejia about the process before inoculating her with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of New York, May 12 But only 29% of Far Rockaway residents have been vaccinated, compared to almost half of New Yorkers city-wide One out of every eight people in Far Rockaway has been diagnosed with COVID-19, and one out of every 146 has died The situation in this community of around 67,000 people illustrates the challenges facing health officials in many places as they try to overcome hesitancy fueled by mistrust, misinformation and fear. The same neighborhoods with lower vaccination rates are also often those with higher COVID death rates, such as Far Rockaway seen in dark grey in the bottom right corner Misinformation has complicated vaccination efforts, especially among residents who are skeptical of the speed with which the vaccine was manufactured. Somer Saleh, a family therapist at New Horizon Counseling Center in Far Rockaway, said that she noticed, among her vaccine-hesitant clients, that there´s 'misinformation on what the actual vaccine contains' and 'wild conspiracy theories.' Pictured: Registered nurse Anna Yadgaro, left, talks to Elva Rosario before inoculating her with the second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, May 12 To really ramp up vaccination rates, personalized outreach in the community is necessary, said Addabbo CEO Miriam Vega.