Walk-in coronavirus vaccinations are now available for New York City residents and workers, age 50 and older, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office announced Saturday.
His no appointment needed announcement expands a service, now at 31 city-run locations, that has been offered since late March to those 75 and older.
The expansion comes despite there being one fewer type of shot available nationwide: earlier in the week, a “pause” was implemented of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of a rare clotting disorder developed in at least 1 out of 7 million recipients. The other two vaccines, by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, remain available in New York and beyond.
So far, 5 million shots have been given in New York City at 600 locations, de Blasio said late last week. His goal is to have 5 million fully vaccinated New Yorkers by June. Statewide, 13 million shots have been given, according to a news release early Saturday afternoon from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office.
The city runs sites through its health department and public hospital system.
Those who are younger than 50 can make appointments at city-run locations by visiting nyc.gov/vaccinefinder or calling 877-VAX-4-NYC. There are also appointments available at state-run locations through https://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/ and through private providers.
Late Saturday morning, Cuomo’s office released figures showing that on several metrics, New York’s pandemic conditions are improving, but according to federal government statistics, the state is still faring worse than much of the United States.
About 3.03% of people tested for the coronavirus in New York State received a positive result, based on a seven-day average, the office said. On Long Island, the figure was 3.38% and in New York City it was 3.21%, with Western New York having the state’s high rate: 5.25%.
On Friday, 58 New Yorkers died of COVID-19, including five in Nassau County and one in Suffolk County, according to Cuomo’s office.
The global death toll from the coronavirus topped 3 million people Saturday, The Associated Press reported. That number just tops the populations of Nassau and Suffolk counties, which had an estimated 2.8 million people in 2019, according to U.S. Census data.
There were 3,834 hospitalizations.
According to the latest-available statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, New York has the most reported people hospitalized for COVID-19 — more than each of the more populous states of Florida, Texas and California.
And according to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the per capita rates of infection and death from the coronavirus are lower in a majority of other states and territories than in New York.
A news release quotes Cuomo as saying the state wants “to get more shots in arms.”
GETTING COVID-19 VACCINES IN NY
Who qualifies for COVID-19 shots?
The State of New York has expended its eligibility list for vaccines against COVID-19 several times, expanding the groups of people included in the phases. This is a summary of the eligible groups. The following are the qualifying categories, as revised on March 29.
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.
Following federal recommendations:
Added at the discretion of local governments:
- Taxi drivers.
- Restaurant workers.
- Residents of facilities for developmentally disabled people.
- Hotel workers who interact with the public.
Other expansions of eligibility:
- State residents age 60 and older (Since March 10, 2021).
- “Public-facing” government and public employees (Since March 17, 2021).
- Workers for not-for-profit organizations who provide “public-facing” services (Since March 17, 2021).
- Building service workers who are “public-facing” employees (Since March 17, 2021).
- State residents age 50 and older (Since March 23, 2021).
Since March 30, 2021:
Since April 6, 2021:
SOURCE: New York State, Northwell Health.
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The walk-in sites where New York City residents and workers 50 and older can get vaccinated are:
BRONX
- Bronx Co-Op City Dreiser Community Center
- Northeast Bronx YMCA (Edenwald)
- South Bronx Educational Campus
- West Bronx Gymnasium
- Lehman College – Apex Center
- Bathgate Contract Postal Station
BROOKLYN
- Coney Island YMCA
- Teachers Prep High School
- Starrett City
- Flatbush YMCA
- Bushwick Educational Campus
- Event Space at City Point
- Brooklyn Army Terminal
MANHATTAN
- Ford Foundation
- NFL Experience Times Square
- Yeshiva University
- City College
- Essex Crossing
- Abyssinian Baptist Church
- Fulton Senior Community Center/Hudson Guild
QUEENS
- Modell’s – Queens Center
- Korean Community Services
- Beach Channel Educational Campus
- Long Island City Vaccine Site (Plaxall)
- Queens Public Library – Flushing Library
- Queens Public Library – Ozone
- CitiField
STATEN ISLAND
- Former Babies R Us – Staten Island Mall
- Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex
- Empire Outlets
- St. Thomas St. Joseph’s School
