Yankee Stadium, Citi Field COVID-19 vaccine sites postponed indefinitely
Plans to convert Yankee Stadium and Citi Field into large-scale coronavirus vaccination sites have officially been postponed indefinitely — while 15 existing city inoculation hubs will remain closed as New York continues to struggle with a supply shortage, officials said Monday.
The setbacks are the latest blows to New York’s problem-plagued vaccine rollout, most recently hampered by a lagging supply of shots from the federal government and manufacturer Moderna — forcing the city to reschedule tens of thousands of appointments when it became clear there weren’t enough jabs on hand.
“We want to get those to be full-blown, 24-hour operations but we don’t have the vaccine,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said of Yankee Stadium and Citi Field during a Monday press briefing.
Hizzoner did not establish a new opening date for the venues, instead saying it was tied to when the city receives ample vaccine supplies to support the operations.
Meanwhile, 15 vaccination hubs spanning all five boroughs that were closed due to the supply shortage last week will remain shuttered until Thursday, City Councilman Mark Levine, head of the council’s Health Committee, revealed in a tweet.
Those sites were previously shuttered last Thursday — tentatively through Jan. 24 — when Moderna’s weekly shipment didn’t come through in time. The appointments that were scrapped at the sites are supposed to go ahead this week, starting Thursday.
The extended closure confused some New Yorkers, who hit the hubs early Monday in search of shots only to find shuttered doors.
“Where do I go for the second dose? No one picks up the phone or nothing!” moaned one man who, joined by his wife, banged on the door of the vaccination center at Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, Queens.
The man, who declined to be identified by name, said that he previously received the first dose of the two-dose vaccine at the school, but couldn’t get in touch with anyone about scheduling the follow-up.
“We followed what they said!” he said, pointing to paperwork detailing how to schedule an appointment for the second shot. “It says ‘If you receive the first dose and do not have an appointment for the second dose, please contact the provider or facility where you were vaccinated.’ This is the facility! No one is picking up the phone on any numbers and time is running!”
Cops from the NYPD’s 107th Precinct tasked with keeping watch on the school said the couple weren’t the first people they’d encountered with the problem.
“We got four or five people looking for help with the second appointment yesterday,” said one officer. “What can we tell them? It’s closed.”
The lack of sufficient shots from the feds follows earlier issues on the state and city end, including onerous Albany restrictions on who could receive the vaccine and a complicated online registration process that confounds many seniors.