Yankee Stadium vaccination site opens

NEW YORK - A mass COVID-19 vaccination site opened at Yankee Stadium on Friday specifically to serve communities in the Bronx. The site will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week by appointment only.

The site, jointly run by the city and state, is staffed by the nonprofit SOMOS Community Care and the New York National Guard. 

The site has the ability to vaccinate about 15,000 people per week, officials said. The challenges include getting more vaccine supply and convincing Bronx residents to make appointments and come down. 

The New York Yankees asked Hall of Fame pitcher Mariano Rivera, whose name adorns a street outside the stadium, to help reach out to communities of color in the borough, which has been hit hard by the virus.

Rivera, Yankees manager Aaron Boone, and Yankees president Randy Levine appeared via remote video at Gov. Andrew Cuomo's pandemic briefing on Friday. Rivera said he was thankful to be at the stadium, which he considers home.

"I used to pitch here and save games, now this is about saving lives. This is greater than baseball," Rivera said. "I walk around people there getting the vaccine, and I see so many smiles on faces, that's what it's all about. Hope is the name of the game right now."

Hundreds of people lined up at the stadium on Friday to get their shots. Lynne Juliet, a Bronx resident, said she'd been trying to get an appointment for weeks at other sites in the city but was able to easily get one at the stadium site when slots opened on Thursday.

"At first it was very difficult for me to get an appointment. I tried for three weeks," she said. "But yesterday because they opened up Yankee Stadium it went through right away, it was very easy."

Councilman Mark Levine told FOX 5 NY this week that the appointment times shouldn't go unfilled. 

"We should have no open time slots, the need is enormous [throughout] the borough," Levine said. "We need to have outreach, on the ground, door-to-door, in front of supermarkets, using community-based organizations."

The governor thanked the Yankees organization for agreeing to partner with health officials. He also praised Rivera for participating. 

"Mariano, your spirit means so much to the people of this state. The love they have for you, and your credibility, your credibility that you are there today," Cuomo said. "You're saying that this is what people should do, I think is going to go a long way."

Bronx residents can make an appointment online at www.somosvaccinations.com or by phone at 833-SOMOSNY (833-766-6769).

With The Associated Press.