NEW YORK: New York The city may run out of its Covid-19 vaccine stock “by the end of next week,” Mayor Bill de Blasio he told reporters on Tuesday, calling on the federal government and laboratories to avoid shortages.
“The federal structure is going very slowly in terms of providing us with the vaccine,” said de Blasio, echoing similar criticisms made by the president-elect. Joe Biden.
After a slow start in vaccine administration, the most populous city in the United States has accelerated in recent days.
Nearly 100 sites started scheduling appointments from Monday, and three major vaccination centers were opened in the Bronx neighborhoods, Brooklyn and queens.
On Monday alone, 26,528 doses were distributed, according to the mayor, who anticipated that the city was “on track” to achieve its goal of giving 175,000 doses this week.
On Tuesday, governor of New York Andrew Cuomo increased eligibility to include people aged 65 and over, based on federal guidelines.
Those aged 75 and over, as well as teachers, police officers, firefighters and transporters, were already eligible.
As of Monday, 216,014 New Yorkers had received at least one dose of vaccines to fight the coronavirus, one produced by Pfizer and BioNTech and another by the biotechnology company Modern.
On Tuesday, the mayor also announced that Queens’ Mets baseball stadium, Citi Field, will be transformed into a vaccination superstition starting on the week of January 25.
The site will operate uninterruptedly, allowing the vaccination of 5,000 to 7,000 people per day.
“We welcome all New Yorkers. We even welcome Yankee fans,” joked Blasio, referring to the longstanding rivalry with the other baseball team in the Bronx.
