Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano called on New York State to open a COVID-19 vaccine distribution center in Yonkers to handle the thousands of local residents who are eligible to receive it.
“Since Yonkers is the 4th largest city in the state and the largest in the Hudson Valley, it is imperative that we meet the vaccine needs of our region by opening an additional center in our city,” said Mayor Spano. “Positivity and hospitalization rates continue to rise here while appointments to obtain a vaccine are increasingly difficult to schedule. We can’t expect Westchester County Center alone to mass service most of those who live in the lower Hudson Valley. We need to expedite the vaccine to the areas where it’s needed most.”
Citing that Yonkers is the most densely populated area in the County and with the most cases, Mayor Spano added, “Three Yonkers zip codes were designated Yellow Zones by the State in November, proving we need to stem the tide of more cases. Our Yellow Zone mostly impacts our lower income communities, many of whom rely on public transportation, so traveling to the County Center for the vaccine comes even more burdensome. I ask our State health officials to consider Yonkers as one of the main hubs for vaccine distribution, especially as more residents become eligible for it.”
“Our collective goal is for all of us to gain herd immunity as we vaccinate more and more Americans – let Yonkers be a means to that goal so we can once again open up our schools, businesses and homes as they should,” stated Mayor Spano.
Suggested locations for vaccine distribution centers in Yonkers include the Yonkers Police Athletic League and Yonkers Public Libraries. Since March 2020, over 17,000 Yonkers residents have contracted COVID-19.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced five state-run vacccination sites, one of which is the Westchester County Center which opened on Jan. 13. On Jan. 15, Cuomo announced that while over 7 million New Yorkers are now eligible for the COVID vaccine, the state only receives 300,000 doses per week from the federal government. To date, New York’s health care distribution sites have administered 75 percent of doses received from the federal government.
Due to the federal government’s limited allocation, appointments have filled up quickly. New Yorkers are being urged to call your local health department, pharmacy, doctor or hospital for additional information and to schedule appointments.
“New York is working around the clock to get needles in arms quickly and efficiently, but we are being constrained by the federal government – they increased eligibility, but never increased supply,” Governor Cuomo said. “What they did was like opening the floodgates of eligibility. Now, 7 million New Yorkers are eligible, but we are still only receiving about 300,000 doses a week. Even worse, we actually got less doses this week at about 250,000. New York has done its part and now has one of the most expansive distribution networks to actually conduct the vaccinations and it’s time for the federal government to do theirs and actually increase the supply.”
State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, from Yonkers, said last week that “The vaccine rollout, as we know it, has been extremely disappointing,”
