coronavirus new york city

Coronavirus Update New York City: NYC-run sites open for residents 50+ without appointment

Coronavirus update for NYC

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Saturday, April 17, 2021

NYC sites open for residents 50 and up without appointment

Access to coronavirus shots expands in a big way in New York City Saturday.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Access to coronavirus shots expands in a big way in New York City Saturday.

More New Yorkers will be allowed to walk up for a vaccine without an appointment.

The option had previously been available for those ages 75 and older, but anyone 50 and up can walk in and be vaccinated.

31 locations citywide are offering this as the city has more supply than ever before -- even with the pause in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Officials say 94,000 shots were administered in one day on Thursday, and on Friday, the city broke the record for daily vaccinations with 106,527.

Mayor Bill de Blasio says even though some sites have hundreds of appointments available this week like the Javits Center, it does not mean that momentum is slowing down.

Mayor de Blasio said he thinks the increased availability of appointments is a positive development.

"We have definitely seen a shift, and I've been talking to leaders all over the city, particularly in communities of color, who all are saying, 'We are seeing it at our vaccine sites,'" he said. "Less hesitancy all the time, more and more people coming forward."

On Saturday, the first ever floating hospital in a public housing project opened at the Queensbridge Houses, offering vaccination and other services.

"We need to make sure that the vaccine is getting the arms of people in every community across Queens County and that means our most under serviced communities," Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.

Over 3 million New Yorkers have already received their first dose in the city. The mayor says the goal is to fully vaccinate 5 million residents by June.

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