NYC will begin vaccinating older adults Monday, Mayor says
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Queens Theatre will become a vaccine testing hub under a plan announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio Thursday. Photo courtesy of Queens Theatre
By David Brand
New York City will begin administering COVID-19 vaccines to residents over age 75 in order toaccelerate a delayed rollout, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday.
The announcement, via Twitter, came after Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed to expand the categories of people eligible for vaccines at a press conference Friday. As with strategies throughout the pandemic, de Blasio and Cuomo have bickered about the best way to speed up vaccine rollout.
“New York City has heard enough. We will begin administering shots to City Workers and the elderly in 1B starting on Monday,” de Blasio said after Cuomo’s remarks, referring to phase 1B of the distribution plan.
New York City has heard enough. We will begin administering shots to City Workers and the elderly in 1B starting on Monday.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) January 8, 2021
In phase 1A, healthcare workers, nursing home staff and residents, and funeral home employees have been eligible for vaccines.
Hundreds of thousands of available vaccines sat in freezers unused as of Friday evening. Though nearly 490,000 vaccine doses were delivered to the city, only 167,949 had been administered, Health Department data shows.
The city and state have both begun identifying new mass vaccine sites to reach a goal of 1 million doses by the end of the January.
Already, the city has designated three public schools as “mass vaccine” sites, including Hillcrest High School and Bushwick Campus High School, two blocks from the Ridgewood border. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday that Queens Theatre will also serve as a vaccination hub.
Cuomo said the state will open a vaccine site at the Javits Center and 19 other large facilities across the state.
He agreed to begin Phase 1B of the rollout plan during a press briefing Friday. That phase includes older adults over 75, people considered particularly vulnerable and people living and working in congregate settings, including homeless shelters.
"To the extent that someone [in phase 1B] says you can come in and get (the vaccine) on Monday? Fine," Cuomo said.
He said vaccinating people in the 1A and 1B pools will take 14 weeks.
