New York State has opened 35 pop-up, community Covid-19 vaccination sites, including two on Long Island, that will provide first doses to New Yorkers this week.
The Islamic Center of Long Island in Westbury and St. Rosalie’s Church in Hampton Bays are both housing vaccine appointments on Wednesday, Feb. 3, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“More than 9,000 New Yorkers have been vaccinated through this effort,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement, “and by making the vaccine accessible and delivered by trusted community partners, we can address the skepticism and bring this life-saving vaccine to those who need it most. The light at the end of the tunnel is bright and getting brighter with each new location and each shot administered.”
Northwell Health is offering its partnership at the Islamic Center of Long Island, and Stony Brook Southampton Hospital is the provider partner at St. Rosalie’s Church.
Though the Long Island pop-up sites are only open for one day, Cuomo said that new community sites will open each week in order to reach all populations. To check eligibility and make an appointment, visit covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov or call 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829).
On Tuesday, Cuomo announced that taxi drivers, restaurant workers, and residents of developmentally disabled facilities are now eligible for the vaccine within municipalities that have the capacity to include them in their vaccination program.
About 7 million New Yorkers are eligible for the vaccine, including healthcare workers, essential workers, and seniors 65 and older. Meanwhile, the state gets an average of roughly 300,000 first-dose vaccines per week.
“Vaccine is a supply issue,” Cuomo said during his press briefing Tuesday. “We have an extensive distribution chain [of] private pharmacies, local governments, hospitals, mass vaccination sites, which are the single most productive vaccination distribution mechanism. So we have the distribution, we just don’t have the product.”
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