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A Facebook post said there were more than 400 extra doses of vaccine available in New York City for appointments that needed to be used before 7pm.
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Swarms of New Yorkers lined the Brooklyn Army Grand Terminal for the vaccine, but officials said there was not enough for people without an appointment.
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The mayor’s office told Insider that the city has a “variety” of ways to ensure the use of overdoses and added that the vaccine site is open 24 hours a day.
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Crowds of New Yorkers rushed to a vaccination site in Brooklyn after a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon said there were extra COVID-19 injections that needed to be used quickly.
A post that said “PLEASE SHARE: We need to distribute more than 410 shots in the next 4 hours at the Brooklyn Army Terminal (around 7pm), taking anyone in the community aged 18 or over, visits or ahead of schedule” was shared and reposted in parent groups and other Facebook circles.
But as the crowds arrived at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in cars and on foot, the mayor’s office tweeted that the photos are reserved for people with appointments, and the Facebook post was a “fake” rumor.
At the same time, however, people in the queue, including Insider associate travel publisher Hannah Freedman, who arrived around 5 pm, said they were told They were an option and were directed to a separate queue for extra photos. That line ended up dispersing as doctors and police descended, saying there were no more shots.
Confusing messages
Approximately 500 people were in line at the Brooklyn Army Terminal at around 5 pm, author and columnist Jessica Valenti wrote in a tweet that has since been deleted.
Another Twitter user, Stephen Lurie, posted a video of people in the Brooklyn Army queue. He wrote that it looked like more than 400 people were there and that a security guard was telling people to go home, but they were asking for more information and refusing to leave.
Bill Neidhardt, press secretary for Mayor Bill de Blasio, decided to end the quick-release information on Twitter, writing in a tweet that the mayor’s office would send someone to clear the line.
New York City councilor Justin Brannan also tweeted, urging New Yorkers to leave Brooklyn Army Terminal.
Brannan told Insider in an email that the claim about extra vaccines was “100% BOGUS.”
The New York Mayor’s office confirmed to Insider that there is no formal waiting list for people who are not in priority groups to be vaccinated before the deadline. Vaccination sites work with city officials to reach eligible citizens so that no doses are missed.
The Brooklyn Army Terminal is also a 24/7 vaccination site, so having vaccines thawed at the end of the day was not a concern there.
“The city has a variety of ways to use the doses,” said a spokesman for the mayor’s office, adding that vaccination sites work with city officials to reach eligible citizens, so that no doses are missed.
The city is currently vaccinating its health care professionals, nursing home residents, grocery workers, first responders and public transport workers, as well as teachers, people who live or work in shelters for the homeless or collective houses and anyone with more 65 years old.
To arrange a meeting, New Yorkers from priority groups can use the city’s online registration form or call 877-VAX-4NYC.
Hilary Brueck contributed reporting.
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