Yankee Stadium set to open for mass vaccinations

NEW YORK - Yankee Stadium will become a mass COVID vaccination site for Bronx residents beginning February 5, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio announced.

The site will be reserved for Bronx residents and will be by appointment only. It will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week and 15,000 appointments will be made available during the site's first week of operation.

However, despite the work done to prepare the site for vaccinations, critics say that not nearly enough outreach is being done to the community to let people know about the hub.

"We should have no open time slots, the need is enormous through the borough," Councilman Mark Levine told FOX 5 NY. "We need to have outreach, on the ground, door-to-door, in front of supermarkets, using community-based organizations."

Levine says the city told him that they will be out canvassing in the Bronx this week to let people know about the hub.

"This is a really important new facility that can help close the equity gap in vaccination that has left low-income communities, African-American and Latino behind through the last month and a half," Levine said.

Plans to provide COVID-19 inoculations at Yankee Stadium and also Citi Field, the New York Mets' home, were delayed by a lack of sufficient vaccine supply. No opening day for vaccinations at Citi Field has been announced.

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The Bronx's positivity rate is currently the highest among all boroughs in New York City, at almost 10%.

Bronx residents who meet New York's 1a and 1b vaccine eligibility requirements can make their appointments by visiting Somosvaccinations.com or by calling 1-833-SomosNY.

With the Associated Press.