Citi Field COVID vaccine hub will open Wednesday for Queens residents
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Wednesday is opening day for Citi Field’s mass vaccine site. SLGCKGC/FLICKR
By David Brand
Update, Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m: The vaccine site at Citi Field was initially billed as a “24/7 mass vaccine hub.” Instead, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday, healthcare workers at the ballpark will administer just 200 shots a day Wednesday through Sunday. The state and federal government have allocated a minimal amount of vaccine doses to Queens.
A COVID-19 vaccine hub will open at Citi Field Wednesday, with 100 percent of appointments reserved for taxi drivers, food service workers and Queens residents, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.
The 24-hour site was initially scheduled to open the week of Jan. 25, but a dwindling number of doses forced the city to delay opening day, de Blasio said.
Medical workers from the city’s Health and Hospitals system will begin administering vaccines at the ballpark at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Half of the appointments will be reserved for Taxi and Limousine Commission-licensed drivers and food service workers, while the other half will be set aside for residents of Queens.
“The focus will be on residents of the borough of Queens,” de Blasio said.
The “huge parking lot” outside the stadium will also enable TLC drivers to visit the site, he said.
“We need them to help us get around the city. They’re vulnerable,” de Blasio said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio discussed “Opening Day” at Citi Field Monday. Image via Mayor’s Office
He also said food service workers, who make up a significant chunk of the population in the neighborhoods around the ballpark, including Corona and Flushing, will also receive priority.
“Food service workers. Folks we depend on. Folks who really have taken care of us , who were there throughout the crisis,” he said.
Nearly 1 million vaccines have been administered in New York City, including more than 200,000 second doses, according to New York City Health Department data.
But the halting vaccine rollout has been plagued by a lack of doses, and the coronavirus has continued to surge in much of Queens.
Queens’ seven-day average COVID-19 test positivity rate was about 9 percent Monday, compared to about 7 percent citywide, according to the most recent data published by the city Health Department.
Three Queens zip codes covering Richmond Hill, Ozone Park and Richmond Hill accounted for the highest positivity rates in the city Monday, with each between 17 and 19 percent, Health data shows.
The Citi Field announcement comes three days after the city and state opened a vaccine site at Yankee Stadium with appointments reserved for Bronx residents.
Nearly 30 Queens elected officials, including Borough President Donovan Richards and three members of Congress, sent a letter to de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday demanding that the city and state finally open the planned COVID-19 vaccine hub at Citi Field.
The lawmakers said the state and city had failed to uphold a “mandate for fairness and social equity” by delaying the Citi Field vaccine hub, located in the “epicenter of the epicenter” of the early days of the COVID pandemic.
“Queens is not receiving the same level of dedication in regards to new vaccine distributions, while being the most diverse borough in New York City and one of the most diverse places in the world,” wrote Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, U.S. Reps. Grace Meng, Gregory Meeks and Carolyn Maloney, and 24 other elected officials.
Eligible Queens residents, food service workers and TLC drivers can make an appointment by visiting nyc.gov/vaccinefinder or calling 877-VAX-4NYC.
