NYC opens Broadway COVID vaccination site with star power

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The newest venue on Broadway is a vaccination site for the entertainment community.

The facility that serves theater, movie and television workers in Times Square administered its first shots on Monday and opened with plenty of fanfare and star power.

Mayor Bill de Blasio was joined by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi, and Office of Media and Entertainment Commissioner Anne del Castillo to tour the Broadway COVID vaccine site.

"This is the most people I have seen in a year and a half, I'm sure you feel the same way," Miranda said. "And this is the first live performance I've seen in a year and a half. So I'm emotional today."

The "Hamilton" creator said this step to bring back Broadway will help performers and crews feel secure once again.

"We want to gather again and we want to tell stories in the dark, we cannot do that if we don't feel safe and if you don't feel safe, so the first step in that process is getting our vaccination shoots and the next steps will follow, but the first step starts today with this clinic," Miranda said.

Miranda joked that he was not going to make a joke about "Not throwing away my shot" -- a line from his Broadway musical, "Hamilton."

Live theatre is vital to tourism in New York. The clinic-like so many others-is intended to bring the vaccine directly to people who need it.

"There's a beautiful saying in the theater, 'The show must go on,' and here in New York City, the show is going on again," de Blasio said. "Broadway is coming back film and TV is coming back!"

De Blasio and Miranda signed a large white sheet of paper on the wall with permanent markers. "We need you back Broadway. We love you," de Blasio wrote before signing his name.

After the opening, the mayor, Miranda, and the tour group made their way over to Father Duffy Square for a speaking and performance program.

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Overall, the city has administered more than 5 million COVID vaccinations.

New York City also announced they had vaccinated a record number of residents this past week with more than a half-million people getting the COVID vaccine.

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