Scott Stringer for Manhattan Borough President

Today, Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, joined by elected officials including State Senator Daniel Squadron and senior citizens, called on the City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to give New Yorkers a full explanation of why city senior centers have not been given seasonal flu vaccines two months past the start of flu season. The Borough President believes the demands of dealing with the H1N1 virus have caused the Health Department to substantially scale back and delay its program for vaccinating senior citizens against the seasonal flu.

The standard practice at the Health Department has been to commence flu vaccinations in senior centers as early as September each year.  Last year, the City’s vaccination program at senior centers was completed by mid-October. As of November 13, 2009, the Health Department has yet to vaccinate a single senior at a center during the current flu season.

Borough President Stringer said, “This is the latest casualty of the H1N1 virus: bureaucratic neglect of our seniors.  Yes, H1N1 is a serious health concern.  But the threat to seniors from the standard, seasonal virus remains as dangerous as ever. The Health Department must be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. They need to provide the same level of protection to seniors that existed in years past, while also confronting H1N1.  Thousands of elderly people who are most vulnerable to influenza stand in harm’s way.  There must be a full explanation of how this was allowed to happen.”

In 2007 (the most recent year for which data is available), the Health Department and its contractor, the Visiting Nurse Service, provided over 25,000 vaccines to seniors at 794 senior centers and community organizations throughout New York City.

The Health Department has indicated that for the 2009 flu season the number of senior centers and community organizations providing the flu vaccine will be reduced to approximately 150 centers.  That reduction would mean that the number of outlets providing Health Department seasonal flu vaccine to the elderly would be cut by over 80 percent.

Public health experts have determined that seniors are not a priority population for H1N1 vaccinations, but seniors remain highly vulnerable to the seasonal flu. Last year, 2,000 New Yorkers died from influenza, the majority of them over 65 years of age.  With the new DOH policy favoring large senior centers and leaving hundreds of smaller neighborhood centers out of the program, the percentage of seniors receiving flu shots is certain to fall below last year’s level.

State Senator Daniel Squadron said, “I commend Borough President Scott Stringer for shedding light on this extremely troubling news. Even as we work to combat the H1N1 virus, we cannot allow the health needs of New York's senior citizens to go overlooked. We must work with our senior centers and the City Health Department to provide our seniors with the seasonal flu vaccines they need.”