Citi Field opens for vaccinations but supply remains scarce
NEW YORK - It will be a different kind of Opening Day at Citi Field on Wednesday. The ballpark will open its doors to Queens residents, restaurant workers, and taxi drivers to get their COVID-19 vaccines.
"Citi Field, it's focused on Queens residents," Mayor Bill de Blasio said. "No one bore the brunt more than Queens residents."
The mayor announced that the city has administered more than 1 million doses of the vaccine so far.
The rollout at Citi Field will be slower than planned because of supply issues. The stadium will be open Wednesday to Thursday with a plan to eventually go 24/7.
"We are starved of supply," de Blasio said. "We could be doing three times as many vaccinations per week right now."
Unlike the Yankee Stadium vaccination site in the Bronx, which is distributing shots in conjunction with the state, Citi Field in Flushing will be a New York City operation, which will mean less supply, de Blasio said.
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But hope is on the horizon.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that the White House announced a 5% increase in vaccination allocation during a conference call with governors. That 5% increase, on top of two previous increases, will bring the state's weekly intake to more than 300,000 doses.
Cuomo also announced that New York will reallocate unused doses from the federal nursing home program. He said that reallocation "could be consequential" — in the tens of thousands of doses.
Cuomo said so far New York has vaccinated 10% of its population.