Hundreds head to Queens high school for first COVID-19 vaccines
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Woodside resident Valeria Correa Gomez said she was happy to get the vaccine at Hillcrest High School. Eagle photos by Rachel Vick
By Rachel Vick
Two men high-fived Sunday as they passed each other near the entrance to Hillcrest High School, the scene of New York City’s newest COVID vaccine hub. One had received his shot, the other was about to get his.
Several older adults threatened by the coronavirus received their inoculations. An occupational therapist left the school beaming after getting her dose. And at 11:30 a.m., Woodside medical assistant Valeria Correa Gomez walked to a table inside the school gym and rolled up her sleeve.
“It's something we all have to get,” Gomez said. “It’s science. I trust science. I love science.”
Hundreds of healthcare workers and other essential employees passed through the doors of Hillcrest High School on Sunday, brandishing barcodes like golden tickets to receive their COVID-19 vaccine shots. They had registered online to receive the shots and carried their confirmation forms into what the city has termed a “mass vaccine site,” one of three public schools being used to accelerate the vaccine rollout.
Healthcare workers, first-responders and funeral home employees were all eligible to receive the vaccine as part of “phase 1a” of the state’s distribution plan Sunday. New Yorkers over 75, teachers and transit workers became eligible Monday.
City workers guided Gomez through the hallways of the Jamaica Avenue high school and into the gym, which featured dozens of tables spaced apart to enable social distancing. Two medical workers staffed each table and inoculated a steady stream of frontline healthcare professionals from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday
“It’s a privilege to get it,” Gomez said.
After a few minutes in the chair, she got the shot and a staff member stamped her vaccine card. She then walked to another area of the school and waited 15 minutes to make sure she did not have an adverse reaction.
She will return in three weeks for her second dose.
On-site staff helped people with appointments make sure they had the information they needed, and turned away people not registered to receive the vaccine.
Several New Yorkers said they were excited to finally get the vaccine after treating COVID patients and working on the front lines of the pandemic for nearly a year.
“It means normalcy, which is a great thing,” said occupational therapist Sharmin Tiu-Curcio, who works at an outpatient facility.
“It is necessary for the safety of everyone, especially being a medical professional. I kind of think of it as a waiting game — you have to make sure safety procedures are followed and try to make the best of your family's safety,” she added.
She walked out of the school smiling.
Each of three new school-based hubs operated by the Department of Health are equipped to give 2,000 doses per day and a total of 6,092 were vaccinated Sunday across the city.
As of Monday morning, New York City has administered 212,796 doses of the vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna. Nearly 18,300 people have received two doses since a Queens nurse became the first person to receive the vaccine outside of clinical trials Dec. 14.
The new vaccine hubs are intended to speed up distribution.
New 24/7 vaccine sites have opened at the Bathgate Contract Postal Station in the Claremont neighborhood of the Bronx and the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park. The city is also planning to open a vaccine hub at Queens Theatre in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
"In order to get the vaccination traffic we want, we will need to build on-ramps," said Health Commissioner Dr. Dave. A. Chokshi. "Facilities like these will be a route to immunity for thousands of New Yorkers.”
New Yorkers can check their eligibility and sign up for vaccination online at the city’s COVID-19 information portal.
