NYC will double staff at Citi Field vaccine site following late-night delays

HUNDREDS LINED UP OUTSIDE CITI FIELD AFTER MIDNIGHT THURSDAY TO WAIT FOR THEIR SCHEDULED VACCINE APPOINTMENTS. PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVEN BAKER

By David Brand

New York City’s Health + Hospitals Corporation will double the number of medical workers administering COVID-19 vaccines at Citi Field after long delays kept Queens residents waiting outside the stadium late into the night Wednesday, the agency said.

The delays forced hundreds of people to stand in the cold well into Thursday morning while they waited for their scheduled appointments at the ballpark vaccine site. Similar lines formed at another vaccine hub in the Bathgate section of the Bronx.

Multiple people interviewed by the Eagle blamed a staff shortage for waits up to five hours long.

HHC spokesperson Julie Bolcer said the city was staffing up to address the problem.

“We are doubling staff at the site to accommodate 1500 patients per day while reducing wait times,” Bolcer said.

Though some people left the line, most vaccine recipients stuck it out at the ballpark Wednesday and Thursday, finally receiving their shots four to five hours after their scheduled appointments. One man said he was vaccinated at 2:40 a.m. after securing a 10 p.m. appointment for himself and his father.

Kambri Crews, the owner of Astoria comedy club Q.E.D., said she waited from about 7:20 p.m. until receiving her shot at midnight. She had an appointment for 8 p.m.

“The nurse who gave me my shot said they didn’t have enough nurses,” she told the Eagle. “The doctor across from her said he had been there since 7:30 a.m.”

Steven Baker, a 32-year-old human resources professional, shared photos from inside the Citi Field clinic and said the site appeared understaffed with too few medical workers administering shots.

“Empty registration and vaccine administration pods,” Baker said. “They're not fully staffed up.”

Baker said HHC workers blamed the delays on a surge in appointments without the necessary staff increase.

Baker said his appointment was postponed due to a supply shortage last week and rescheduled for Wednesday.