The presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature called on the state to set up a mass vaccination site at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, saying Long Island needs more help in fighting COVID-19 since it has persistently registered the highest infection rate of any region in New York.
The call for more urgent action in the region came during a Thursday morning vaccine hearing at the legislative building in Mineola, citing Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s own complaints about Long Island’s positivity rate tracking higher.
“Long Island has continued to see the highest infection rate in the state. In the governor’s own words ‘Long Island, Long Island, Long Island,'” Nassau Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park), speaking for the Republican majority, said Thursday.
He noted that the Democratic governor and other officials are opening a mass vaccination site on Friday at Yankee Stadium, where 15,000 doses will be administered in the first week.
Nicolello said that is almost as many as Nassau County has administered since the vaccine rollout began weeks ago.
“That is why I join my colleagues on behalf of Nassau County residents struggling to receive the vaccine, in asking that the governor open up a mass vaccination site at the Nassau Coliseum,” he said. “This will allow more residents to get tested, lower our infection rate, and allow more businesses to open, and continue to rebuild.”
Republicans hold an 11-8 majority on the county’s Legislature. Democrats had not objected to his push for a more vigorous vaccination effort in the county.
Cuomo’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The state already operates mass vaccination sites at Jones Beach and Stony Brook University, though their operations are limited because of the scarcity of vaccine doses.
At the same time, two pop-up vaccination sites scheduled to open next week in Long Beach and Riverhead — and announced Wednesday by Cuomo — have been canceled, hospital officials said Thursday.
Northwell Health said it is rescheduling its one-day vaccination programs planned for two faith-based locations on Long Island.
Northwell was scheduled to be at Christian Light Missionary Baptist Church in Long Beach and First Baptist Church in Riverhead next Tuesday.
The health system didn’t say why the events were canceled or when they’d be rescheduled. Cuomo’s office said on Thursday said the state has not yet released the list of pop-up sites for next week, but more Long Island locations will be among them. The pop-up sites are part of an effort to reach communities hardest-hit by the pandemic.
Cuomo has said repeatedly that New York’s problem is not lack of distribution capacity, but lack of vaccine supply. The state was getting between 250,000 and 300,000 doses a week, which the federal government has increased by about 20% starting this week, Cuomo said.
But that is far short of what the state of 19.5 million people needs to vaccinate enough residents quickly to get the virus under control, according to Cuomo and health experts.
New York on Wednesday expanded its campaign to vaccinate some of the populations hardest hit by COVID-19, saying that a mosque and a Roman Catholic church on Long Island were among 35 sites the state is setting up this week to reach Blacks, Latinos and other underserved communities.
One-day pop-up sites opened Wednesday at the Islamic Center of Long Island in Westbury and St. Rosalie’s Roman Catholic Church in Hampton Bays.
“COVID brought the ugly truth of inequity and inequality in this country to a tipping point,” Cuomo said. “COVID has killed Black and Latino New Yorkers at a higher rate, and that is why these community-based sites are one of New York’s vaccine priorities.”
The COVID-19 infection level statewide has dropped every day for nearly a month straight after a holiday season spike. Statewide, the seven-day average was 4.86% in test results from Tuesday, the second straight day the level was below 5%.
The last time the state level was below that threshold was Dec. 6. The level on Long Island also continued to fall, registering at 5.89% for the week, though it remains the highest in the state.
With David Reich-Hale
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