New York City is postponing the opening of COVID-19 mass vaccination sites at Yankee Stadium, Citi Field and Empire Outlets in Staten Island due to a lack of supply, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday at his daily news briefing.
The city is expecting a supply of 107,825 doses of the vaccine this week, not enough to open the major sites, de Blasio said.
“We urgently need more supply,” the mayor said, adding that the city has the capacity to vaccinate 500,000 individuals each week once it has sufficient supply.
To date, the city has vaccinated 628,831 people, de Blasio said.
The city currently has 19,032 first doses remaining in stock. To open the mass vaccination sites, the city needs about 200,000 doses in stock.
While vaccines remain precariously low in New York, de Blasio said help is on the way, with the single-dose Johnson & Johnson expected to receive approval in the coming weeks. Doses of that third COVID vaccine could be the arms of New Yorkers by late-February or early March, he said.
“The Johnson and Johnson vaccine potentially being just weeks away I think is a real game changer,” de Blasio said. “We have the tools coming to turn the tide.”
Demand for vaccines has continued to outnumber supplies in the state, with more than 7 million residents qualifying for the first phases of the vaccination effort. The state was running short last week and uncertain of the amount of its supply for this week, but state vaccination sites as well as pop-up clinics and those in the state’s network of private providers continued to book appointments as vaccines were received.
On Long Island, Northwell Health said it will vaccinate a total of 500 people at churches in Roosevelt and Huntington Station on Tuesday.
The appointments were made through each church, and Northwell added there were no appointments remaining.
Northwell Health on Monday said it continues to have a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines, and those doses are earmarked only for people who need a second dose.
The health system added that it also had a small supply of vaccine to give the shots to employees. As of Friday, Northwell had vaccinated about 43,000 of its 75,000 employees.
The state’s daily positivity rate for newly confirmed virus cases was tracked at 5.09% for Saturday, an improvement from a surge through the holiday period and the start of the year.
With David Reich-Hale
GETTING COVID-19 VACCINES
Who qualifies for COVID-19 shots?
New York State expanded the list of qualifying residents to encompass people 65 years of age and older as well as others deemed to be immunocompromised. The state had recently expanded its vaccination program to include essential workers and people 75 years of age and older in addition to health care workers and nursing home residents and staff, among others. The supply of vaccines is limited even as more groups are added. Hospitals will continue to prioritize unvaccinated members of the first phase, focusing largely on health care workers. The following are the qualifying categories, as revised on Jan. 12.
Group in Phase 1A
The state said about 2.1 million state residents belong in this group, including:
- Health care workers at hospitals who interact with patients.
- Residents and staff at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
- Dentists, psychologists and others deemed health care workers with direct contact with patients.
- Employees of Federally Qualified Health Centers.
- EMT volunteers and staff.
- Coroners, medical examiners, some funeral workers.
- Staff and residents of state facilities for people with developmental disabilities, mental health care and addiction services.
- Employees at urgent care centers.
- Individuals administering COVID-19 vaccines, including local health department staff.
- Staff at ambulatory centers.
- Home care and hospice workers.
- Residents and staff at other congregate care facilities.
Group in Phase 1B
The state estimated about 3.2 million residents belong in this group, including:
- People 75 years of age and older.
- Teachers and education workers, including in-person college instructors, substitute teachers, student teachers, school administrators, paraprofessional staff, support staff, contractors in schools and bus drivers.
- First responders, including police; firefighters; state police; sheriff’s offices; county, town and village police departments, and other law enforcement offices.
- Public safety workers, including dispatchers and technicians.
- Public transit workers, including airport, railroad, subway, bus, ferry and Port Authority employees.
- Corrections officers.
- Other sworn and civilian personnel, such as court and peace officers.
- Grocery store workers dealing with the public.
- Individuals living in homeless shelters.
Added to follow federal recommendations:
- People 65 years of age and older.
- People who are deemed to be immunocompromised. The state will issue specific guidance on who qualifies.
SOURCE: New York State, Northwell Health.
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