COVID-19 Vaccination Site Opens at Citi Field, Queens

(NEW YORK) — A COVID-19 vaccination hub opened Feb. 10 at Citi Field in Queens. The site, run by the NYC Test & Trace Corps, will be serving Queens residents, and TLC drivers, and food service workers from all five boroughs. The vaccine will be free with 24-hour service available starting Feb. 24. 

The Citi Field site plans to administer approximately 200 vaccine shots per day for the first week of operation. The goal is to gradually increase the number of shots given per day, increasing next week to 500 per day, and eventually to 5,000 per day. 

Appointment availability will depend on the number of vaccine shots on site. New York Mayor Bill De Blasio encourages people to make appointments online or over the phone. There will be “a way to sign them up for the next available future opportunity” if people show up in person, he said. 

The vaccination sites are run by the City of New York, rather than the state. De Blasio hopes that by directly running vaccination operations the city will have better control over the supply of vaccines. 

“We’ve got to stop this game of not knowing how much supply we’re going to have. We need a direct allotment of supply that we can depend on,” he said on Wednesday, at the opening of the Citi Field site. 

De Blasio said the vaccination hubs will benefit the “working people, essential workers who have given their all to us during this crisis.” 

Queens has been hit particularly hard during the pandemic, with the highest number of COVID-19 cases and the second-highest number of COVID-19 related deaths out of all five boroughs. 

“It will soon be opening day for baseball, but today it’s opening day for the people of this city, the people of Queens,” said De Blasio.