The new J&J vaccine started shipping from a Kentucky warehouse on Monday, with an initial 3.9 million doses expected to arrive at destinations across the country within 24 to 48 hours.
The state of New York expects to receive 164,800 doses this week.
It’s happening as Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the opening of a new vaccination site at Co-op City in the Bronx.
The site will open Thursday, the mayor said. Its operating hours are set for Thursdays through Tuesdays from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 131 Dreiser Loop.
It is part of the city’s ongoing effort to get more vaccine into the arms of New York City residents, particularly in hard-hit low income areas.
On Monday, de Blasio took aim at Governor Andrew Cuomo over the operation of state-run vaccination sites.
He cited new data showing 42% of all vaccinations at the Javits Center are going to New Yorkers who live outside the city.
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And at the Aqueduct Racetrack site in Queen, the percentage of non-city residents getting vaccinated is as high as 75%.
“These big sites do not actually help us improve equity and fight disparity, unfortunately, unless they’re targeted properly,” de Blasio said. “In terms of New York City, these sites do not perform what we hope to see, which is more and more focused on equity.”
Mayor de Blasio has a goal of getting five million city residents vaccinated by June. As of Tuesday morning, he said just over 2 million New Yorkers had received at least one dose.
The developments in New York City came as the director of the Centers for Disease Control warned of another possible COVID surge.
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