Gov. Andrew Como said $15 million in funding will go toward promoting vaccinations across New York in areas with the lowest rates.

He said this will go to six statewide community groups that will target 117 ZIP codes with below average rates. Out of those ZIP codes, 71 of them are primarily in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Cuomo made the announcement at the Yankee Stadium on Monday. He called the recent surge in coronavirus cases, a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

He said the problem is vaccine hesitancy. Cuomo said 72% of recent cases are linked to the delta variant and that only 0.15% of those cases are among vaccinated people.

Cuomo believes disproportionately affected communities in the Bronx and Brooklyn need a bigger push. He said the trend can be seen in communities of color and those with a lower income who lack health care access.

The $15 million will be spread out among the Hispanic Federation, the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, the New York Immigration Coalition and the Asian American Federation, the Charles B. Wang Community Center and the Apicha Community Health Center.

Cuomo said he understands that many communities of color fear the vaccine and that some don’t believe there’s enough data behind it, which is why he said the solution starts on the ground.

"This has to be someone that speaks their language, literally and figuratively," Cuomo said. "We have great community organizations that are organized all across the state and we're going to fund them to go out and literally have these conversations in these communities."

The state also released a public service announcement video that shows people urging their fellow New Yorkers to get vaccinated, telling them to be "New York tough."

With more than 3.5 million adults across the state unvaccinated, the governor is hoping these efforts change those numbers drastically.