Coronavirus Update New York City: Citi Field will become mega-vaccination site; Grocery workers could be added to Group 1B

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that Citi Field will become a 24/7 mega-vaccination site later this month and a Yankees spokesperson said plans are being finalized to utilize Yankee Stadium too.

Operated by the NYC Health + Hospitals Test & Trace Corps, the site at Citi Field is currently slated to launch the week of Jan. 25.

The Citi Field site will eventually scale up to be able to vaccinate approximately 5,000-7,000 eligible New Yorkers per day, building on the city' s goal to offer one million doses of the vaccine by the end of January.

"What's clear is now that we're in folks over 75, there's clearly a lot of demand," de Blasio said. "It's over half a million New Yorkers over 75, and they want this vaccine."

A Yankees spokesperson confirmed to Eyewitness News that Yankee Stadium is also being considered as a site:

"The New York Yankees reached out several months ago to both New York City and New York State to offer Yankee Stadium as a potential vaccination host location. Ongoing dialogue resulted in a call earlier today from New York City officials to the Yankees organization, and we are currently working with city representatives to finalize details that will enable us to utilize Yankee Stadium as a vaccination site. We are gratified knowing that Yankee Stadium will serve our community in such a vital and meaningful way."

Residents in Group 1b are now eligible to get the vaccine, including frontline essential workers like teachers, transit workers, police and firefighters, and all people over the age of 75.

The mayor also announced that the next phase of those eligible to receive the vaccine, group 1b, will now include people who live and work in shelters and public-facing grocery store workers. He is also asking for more essential workers to be covered, including food delivery workers and deli and bodega workers.

Meanwhile, the New York City Council held hearings Tuesday to discuss streamlining the vaccination distribution process in the city.

All-night vaccinations are now underway at two other 24/7 vaccine mega-sites, located at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park and the Bathgate Contract Postal Station in the Bronx.

Both were completely booked overnight, an indication of how high the demand is for the shots.

Check if you are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine

After a rocky start, de Blasio says the city managed to vaccinate 100,000 people last week with the goal is to inject shots into the arms of a million New Yorkers by the end of this month.

Watch NYC Mayor de Blasio make the announcement with Mets owner Steve Cohen

If you're eligible, you can make appointments at nyc.gov/vaccinefinder or by calling 877-VAX-4NYC.

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Josh Einiger has the latest on New York City's COVID vaccination efforts.

Officials say about 30-40% of people in the first group that was eligible to receive the vaccine actually turned it down. Now, there's a push to use up the excess supply fast.

Another city site opened at 125 Worth Street in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday.

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The city will open Gotham Health on Staten Island at 165 Vanderbilt Avenue on Wednesday, and a larger Staten Island site, at the Empire Outlets, opens next week.

Another mass vaccination site opens Saturday in the Corona section of Queens. By the end of this week, the city will have 160 vaccination sites open in total, in all of the five boroughs.

The state is also opening its own mass vaccination sites, starting with the Javits Center on Wednesday.

Due to limited vaccine supplies, Cuomo said it could be April before everyone who wants a vaccine in these groups can get one.

"We are going to accept the federal guidance of the 65 or more and the immunocompromised," he said on Tuesday. "I don't want New Yorkers to think we are not doing everything we can to make them eligible for the vaccine because I want to keep people in New York as calm as we can keep people in these anxious times. I don't want people to think that if people in any other state are eligible when they are not, but the dose of reality is great, now we have 7 million people eligible and we have the drip drip drip of the faucet of federal dosage availability at 300,000."

He released information on where mega-vaccination sites would be located. All locations require appointments.

New York State vaccination sites:

Wednesday 1/13:

Javits Center

State Fair Expo Center, Onondaga County

Thursday 1/14:

Westchester County Center

Friday 1/15:

Jones Beach, Nassau County - Drive-Thru

SUNY Albany

Next week, more state sites open:

SUNY Stony Brook (LI)

SUNY Binghamton property in Johnson City

Dome Arena, Rochester

Plattsburgh Airport - Drive-thru

SUNY Postdam

Utica Memorial Auditorium

U Buffalo South Campus

Aqueduct Race Track, Queens

CHECK THE LIST of who is eligible for a vaccine in New York State

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