New York City keeping 24/7 vaccine centers open, despite state hours decreasing

Coronavirus update for NYC

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Monday, March 15, 2021

Diana Rocco reports on the vaccination efforts in New York City.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- New York City will continue running its 24/7 vaccination sites, despite the state ending overnight vaccinations at the Javits Center last week.

The state was offering Johnson & Johnson shots overnight at the Javits Center when there was supply.

Supply decreased, and the site is back to its normal hours of 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"We have a couple of different things we have to achieve simultaneously. We've got to get the vaccines out to all communities, particularly the communities hardest hit. We've got to get the most grassroots," Mayor de Blasio said. "But the bottom line is the supply problem. If we had the supply, we'd be running a lot of places 24/7.

"We know that for essential workers, having hours early in the morning, late in the day and overnight, those are critically important as well to make sure people are able to access vaccination in a way that is convenient for them," Dr. David Chokshi said.

Mayor de Blasio said he's looking forward to getting vaccinated with the one dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine "very soon."

So far, more than 2.8 million New Yorkers have received their vaccine.

On Monday, the mayor announced a new initiative to reach homebound New Yorkers and those with disabilities so they will be able to vaccinated in their homes.

Also, for the first time in months, the daily COVID hospitalizations in New York City were below the threshold of 200 at 154.

But, the other indicators were still above their thresholds with daily positive cases at 3,123 and a 7-day positivity average of 6.16%.

Sunday marked one year since the first coronavirus death at a New York City hospital. Since then, nearly 30,000 New Yorkers have died.