Hillcrest High will become COVID vaccine hub

Mayor Bill de Blasio observes the vaccination of healthcare worker Tara Easter. NYU Langone Health

Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office

By Rachel Vick

Hillcrest High School will soon become a COVID-19 vaccination hub for healthcare workers as part of a plan to accelerate vaccine rollout across the five boroughs, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday. 

Starting Sunday, the Jamaica Avenue school will be one of three New York City public schools to host vaccine distribution, with the city attempting to administer 1 million doses by February. 

“This is the shape of things to come,” De Blasio said. “You're going to see a lot more like this, using public school buildings as hubs for a larger community.”

“We want to make sure that whatever it takes logistically and whatever it takes in community outreach,” he added.

A spokesperson for de Blasio tweeted Tuesday that the city intends to turn additional large, city-owned facilities into “Mass Vax Sites,” with a goal of inoculating 100,000 people a week at those locations. 

De Blasio originally said the city aimed to vaccinate 1 million people this month, before revising the goal to administer 1 million doses. Individuals must receive two doses either three of four weeks apart depending on whether they receive the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

The two other public schools included in the initiative are Bushwick Educational Campus — located two blocks from the Ridgewood border — and the South Bronx Educational Campus. The three sites will have a combined capacity to administer thousands of doses a day, said Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi.

Chokshi said eligible workers include doctors and nurses, as well as phlebotomists, dentists, physical therapists, coroners, funeral workers, and staff at specialty clinics like dialysis centers. 

Some healthcare workers in Queens have already begun to receive their second doses of the vaccine.

“The new year does feel like a new door is opening,” Chokshi said. “We are ready to roll up our sleeves so New Yorkers can roll up theirs for the shot.”