Citi Field replaces Queens Theatre as mass vaccine site

Photo courtesy of Queens Theatre

By David Brand

Citi Field has replaced Queens Theatre as a 24/7 mass vaccine site, the organization said on its website Tuesday.

Though Mayor de Blasio initially said the city would set up vaccine distribution at the theater in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the city’s public hospital system will instead transform the nearby ballpark into a round-the-clock COVID vaccination hub, a City Hall spokesperson told Queens Patch.

“Queens Theatre is delighted that our neighbors, Citi Field, will be able to serve as a mass vaccination clinic,” the institution wrote in a message on its website. “Because of our close proximity, Queens Theatre will not serve as a site at this time.”

“We will continue to embrace all opportunities to support and promote the health, safety, and recovery of our City, including through our programming and outreach,” they added.

The Citi Field site will have capacity to administer 5,000 to 7,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses per day, de Blasio said. The initiative, run by the city’s Health + Hospitals system, will begin the week of Jan. 25, he added.

De Blasio said the ballpark’s proximity to the No. 7 Train and its large parking lots will allow thousands of New Yorkers to visit every day. 

“It is Amazin’ news,” he said at a press conference with new Mets owner Steve Cohen. “And it's such a welcome moment for the people of this city, particularly for the people in Queens – we are going to have a 24/7, mega-vaccination site at Citi Field.”