Bronx Mega-Site Will Be Reserved for Bronx Residents by Appointment Only, Bolstering State and City’s Commitment to Ensuring Fairness and Equity in Vaccine Distribution Process
15,000 Appointments Available During First Week
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that Yankee Stadium will open this week as a mega vaccination site, beginning to administer COVID-19 vaccinations to eligible Bronx residents on Friday, February 5. The site, established through a partnership between New York State, New York City, the New York Yankees, SOMOS Community Care and the New York National Guard, will help address and mitigate the ongoing impact of COVID-19 in the Bronx, including positivity rates in nearby communities, and promote equitable distribution of the vaccine, including in the borough’s hardest-hit neighborhoods. Bronx residents interested in scheduling appointments should visit Somosvaccinations.com or call 1-833-SomosNY.
“This mega site shows what our grassroots, equity-driven NYC Vaccine for All effort is all about,” Mayor de Blasio said. “Yankee Stadium has always been known for its World Series banners, but now it’ll be recognized as a place where the people of the surrounding community in the Bronx can receive the vaccine doses that they need and deserve. This is about justice and standing up for the neighborhoods that were hardest hit by COVID-19.”
“It’s abundantly clear that Black, Latino and poor communities have been hit the hardest by COVID, and the Bronx is no exception,” Governor Cuomo said. “Our efforts to target vaccinations by locations with higher positivity rates have been working to not only keep the infection rate down, but to help ensure equity in our vaccine distribution process, and opening a mass vaccination site at Yankee Stadium – the Bronx’s most iconic landmark - is the perfect solution to helping this borough get vaccinated and defeat COVID once and for all.”
The New York Yankees said, “The New York Yankees recognize the devastating effect COVID-19 has had on our borough, and it is our privilege to have Yankee Stadium as a host site for providing vaccines to Bronx residents. These vaccinations will make an immediate difference in improving the health of our local community — which has been so overwhelmed by this pandemic — and we extend our appreciation to all those involved with bringing this effort to fruition, including Governor Andrew Cuomo, the State of New York, Mayor Bill De Blasio, the City of New York and SOMOS Community Care. We will do whatever is needed to make this a success.”
The vaccination site at Yankee Stadium is a key component of the City’s ongoing work to ensure equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, including by making the vaccine as accessible as possible and working to address vaccine hesitancy at the local community level. Last month, to continue expanding the City’s Vaccine for All effort, the City’s Task Force on Racial Inclusion and Equity (TRIE) updated its analysis of neighborhoods hardest-hit by COVID-19 and which have experienced long histories of racism and inequity, resulting in health and socioeconomic disparities, from 27 to 33 neighborhoods. The City will increase vaccine access and uptake in neighborhoods with significant gaps, through brick-and-mortar actions like this new site as well as expanded community engagement. This includes parts of the South Bronx, and areas around Yankee Stadium. For example, ahead of the Yankee Stadium vaccine site opening on Friday, the City will deploy canvassers to conduct on-the-ground outreach to Bronxites in these communities, providing vaccine facts to neighborhood residents and helping eligible individuals make vaccination appointments.
To achieve the City’s equity goals and reach as many New Yorkers as possible with the vaccine, including and especially Black and Latinx New Yorkers, the City continues to deepen and expand outreach through its agency partners and trusted community voices, including:
- Opening more hubs in more hard-hit neighborhoods as supply allows
- Offering free transportation to vaccination appointments for seniors
- Expanding vaccination clinics at NYCHA developments
- Conducting comprehensive outreach, including knocking on doors, placing direct calls and robocalls, and holding virtual townhalls
- Partnering with local organizations to get the word out about accessible and safe vaccinations in New York City, including community health providers and more, ensuring neighborhood residents can access appointments at vaccination sites near them.
Overall, the City continues to expand its citywide network of vaccine access points open to the eligible public, with 63 percent of public sites already in Task Force neighborhoods. More sites will be opened as supply allows.
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