Story at a glance
- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the Citi Field stadium will be converted into a large-scale vaccination center.
- De Blasio said 26,000 vaccinations were administered on Monday.
After California announced plans to convert entertainment sites and stadiums into mass vaccination centers, New York followed suit, confirming that the Citi Field baseball stadium will be converted into a mass vaccination center open 24 hours, seven days a week.
Announced by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday, CNBC reports that the center will open at the end of January to deliver mass vaccinations to thousands of residents daily.
The site, home to the New York Mets baseball team, will be overseen by the New York City Health and Hospitals, where they will aim to administer between 5,000 to 7,000 vaccinations daily.
“This is going to help so many people to get vaccinated,” de Blasio said during a press conference. “We welcome all New Yorkers. We even welcome Yankees fans; there’s no discrimination.”
De Blasio mentioned that the city had already administered 26,000 vaccine shots on Monday.
Currently, New York City allows people 75 and older, first responders, teachers, school staff and other workers deemed essential to be eligible for the first vaccine doses starting this week.
Starting on Tuesday, New York state will also open up COVID-19 vaccinations to people 65 and older, in addition to immunocompromised individuals, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) reportedly said.
NEW: New Yorkers age 65+ are now eligible for the COVID vaccine — effective immediately.
Check your eligibility and find vaccination locations near you.
I urge patience as unfortunately there are far more eligible NYers than there is vaccine supply from the federal gov.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) January 12, 2021
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