NYC mayor says city will make sure Holocaust survivors get vaccine

Mayor Bill de Blasio says New York City will initiate an effort to make sure that Holocaust survivors get vaccinated.

De Blasio gives few details at a news conference, but says the city will partner with a “number of organizations in the Jewish community,” including the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.

The Democratic mayor says he has hosted a group of Orthodox Jewish leaders at his official residence to talk about issues in the community.

“The presence of Holocaust survivors in our city is a reminder of just how recently that history took place, and we’ve got to be there for these people,” de Blasio says.

Selfhelp, a nonprofit that serves survivors and other elderly in New York, has estimated that there are over 38,000 Holocaust survivors in the New York City metropolitan area.

Currently, New Yorkers 65 and over are eligible for the vaccine, which includes all of the Holocaust survivors.