Roughly 90 percent of Asian kids between the ages of 13 and 17 in the city are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Department of Health.
They far outpaced all other groups for adolescent coronavirus shots, with the rate for Hispanics currently at 38 percent, whites at 32 percent, and African-Americans at 24 percent.
The sky-high Asian youth shot rate is even higher than the percentage of elderly Asians who’ve received the jab. The citywide figure for Asians 65 and older sits at 80 percent, according to the data.
Asian youth vaccine rates were highest in Manhattan, where they approached a staggering 100 percent, according to city data.
The DOH noted that the percentages are based on information from the city’s vaccine registry compared to overall population estimates, so the figures are not exact. COVID-19 vaccines are not yet available for kids younger than 12.
Asian youth vaccination rates stand at 93 percent in Brooklyn, 91 percent in Queens, 76 percent in Staten Island, and 57 percent in the Bronx, according to the data.
The lowest adolescent jab rate by race and borough was just 20 percent for white teens in Brooklyn, the numbers show.
At 74 percent overall, Asians teens have the highest full vaccination rate in the city by a wide margin.
Whites are second at 47 percent, Hispanics at 46 percent, and blacks at 34 percent.
While he hasn’t mandated vaccines for eligible city kids, Mayor Bill de Blasio has pressed parents to seek out the shot. He also urged the federal government to prioritize the development and approval of vaccines for kids younger than 12 last week.
Youth vaccination rates will directly impact on the frequency of student quarantines for some city students.
Vaccinated kids who are asymptomatic will not have to quarantine if a classmate tests positive for the virus. And since they are ineligible for the shot, kids younger than 13 will not have that exemption.
All city teachers are required to get their first vaccine dose by next month or face termination.
As of last week, the DOE said 72 percent of teachers and 63 percent of all school employees were confirmed to have had at least their first shot.
Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross-Porter said she was confident that compliance would spike with the school year approaching.
