Most New York City COVID-19 vaccination centers are open only four days a week, while the Big Apple faces a shortage of supplies.
The city’s health department began reopening its 15 distribution sites on January 28, after a nearly week-long shutdown caused by a lack of vaccines.
However, 12 of the centers – where consultations were available seven days a week before closing – reopened with limited capacity, the health department said.
These 12 sites are now open only from Thursday to Sunday.
Health department spokesman Patrick Gallahue said the decision to reopen the centers just four days a week was due to a shortage of supplies in city-run locations.
“We review operations and supplies regularly so that we can vaccinate New Yorkers,” said Gallahue in a statement on Tuesday.
The three other centers, in turn, are still open seven days a week – but with consultations only for the second doses of the vaccine.
These locations – the South Bronx Educational Campus, the Bushwick Educational Campus and Hillcrest High School – were the first to open and are where many New Yorkers received their first doses about 28 days ago, Gallahue said.
Despite limited supplies, the city now has two new giant vaccine centers, including one at Citi Field, which is due to open on Wednesday with only 800 doses available. The other, at Yankee Stadium, opened Friday with a reinforcement of shots from the state.
As of Tuesday, the city had less than 42,958 first doses on hand and about 254,000 doses reserved for second doses.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has repeatedly appealed to the feds and the state to allow the city to distribute its second dose reserve to those who need the first dose.
New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker rejected the mayor’s request last week.
The Empire State has received about 300,000 weekly doses from the feds, 43% of which go to the city.
However, the amount of weekly doses by the feds is expected to increase by 5 percent over the next three weeks, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday.
The governor also announced that the state will launch 11 pop-up vaccination sites in Queens and Manhattan, as well as on Long Island and the Hudson Valley.