Starting Friday, it will become easier for more New Yorkers to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and they don’t even have to wait for an appointment. NBC New York’s Tracie Strahan reports.
The tri-state continues to take major steps forward in the fight against the coronavirus -- including opening up who is eligible for vaccination as well as setting up mass vaccination sites to keep the process moving quickly.
Millions are eligible for shots in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut -- with eligibility expanding on a regular basis across the three states and the U.S.
The following guide compiles the basic information on the vaccination plans for the tri-state area and answers common questions on registration and other issues.
New York
CHECK ELIGIBILITY AND REGISTER
New York launched the new "Am I Eligible" app to help New Yorkers determine if they meet the criteria to receive the vaccine and connect users to administration centers for information and to schedule appointments, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
All residents 12 and older are able to make a reservation for an appointment — however, only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for those between 12-17 (Moderna has applied for approval for teens and adolescents, but has not been given approval yet). Parents or guardians have to provide consent for vaccination, and children must be accompanied by an adult.
Visit https://am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/ for more information regarding eligibility, how to sign up, and what vaccines are being offered in certain locations.
Starting April 23, all New York City-run vaccine sites in each borough now provide doses without an appointment -- and the mayor lifted geographic restrictions so people can get dosed in any borough regardless of residence.
The city was also given permission by the state to inoculate any U.S. resident 16 and older — meaning tourists can come to NYC and get vaccinated. Mobile vans stocked with the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be ready to roll out at spots ranging from the Empire State Building and Times Square to Brooklyn Bridge Park, the High Line and Central Park, among others, the mayor said.
All state-run mass vaccination sites accept walk-ins as well. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the looming change, making a once maddeningly process for many that much easier. The sites are:
- Kodak-Hawkeye Parking Lot (1345 St. Paul St., Rochester, New York)
- New York State Fair Site (581 State Fair Blvd., Syracuse, New York)
- Washington Ave. Armory (195 Washington Ave., Albany, New York)
- Crossgate Mall, Former Lord & Taylor Lower Level (1 Crossgates Mall Road, Albany, New York)
- Suffolk County Community College - Brentwood (Suffolk Federal Credit Union Arena, 1001 Crooked Hill, Brentwood, New York)
- Aqueduct Race Track - Racing Hall (110-00 Rockaway Blvd., South Ozone Park, New York)
- New York National Guard Armory (2 Quincy Place, Yonkers, New York)
- SUNY Old Westbury (Clark Center - Gate C, Store Hill Road and Cherry Road, Old Westbury, New York)
- Medgar Evers College - Carroll Building (231 Crown St., Brooklyn, New York)
- York College (160-2 Liberty Ave., Jamaica, Queens, New York)
- Javits Center (429 11th Ave., Manhattan, New York)
- Yankee Stadium (1 E 161 St., The Bronx, New York)
- SUNY Binghamton (10 Gannett Drive, Johnson City, New York)
- Delavan Grider Community Center (877 East Delavan Ave., Buffalo, New York)
- Rochester Dome Arena (2695 East Henrietta Road, Henrietta, New York)
- SUNY Polytechnic Institute (Wildcat Field House, 880 Wildcat Drive, Utica, New York)
New York City and New Jersey Vaccine Providers
Click on each provider to find more information on scheduling appointments for the COVID-19 Vaccine.
Data: City of New York, State of New Jersey • Nina Lin / NBC
24/7 VACCINATION CENTERS IN NYC
The city's first 24/7 vaccination sites opened in Brooklyn and the Bronx on Sunday, Jan. 10, and are able to vaccinate up to 2,000 people per day at each location.
The 24/7 vaccination sites are located in:
- Bathgate Contract Postal Station Business Service Center, 4006 3rd Ave., The Bronx, NY 10457
- Brooklyn Army Terminal, 80 58th St, Brooklyn, NY 11220
- Empire Outlets, 55 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301
- The Health Department at 125 Worth Street Room 144. New York, NY 10013
- Queens Corona Clinic at 10404 Corona Ave., Corona NY 11368, Queens, NY.
- Vanderbilt Health + Hospitals Clinic at 165 Vanderbilt Ave, Staten Island, NY 10304.
OTHER NEW YORK CITY LOCATIONS
The mass vaccination sites at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, at 37th Street and 11th Avenue in Manhattan, and at Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx, are no longer operating fully 24/7, but are still administering vaccines. Those interested in scheduling appointments should visit Somosvaccinations.com or call 1-833-SomosNY, or a handful of on-site ticket windows can help those that need in-person assistance.
Meanwhile, Citi Field opened Wednesday, Feb. 10 as a vaccination site, with the capacity to serve up to 7,000 people per day. Half of all appointments at Citi Field were being reserved for Queens residents, the other half for TLC licensees and food delivery workers, the mayor had announced.
New York City said it was working with the state and the NBA's Nets in an effort to open up another megasite, this time at Barclays Center to cater to Brooklynites. The Co-op City vaccine megasite is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Tuesday.
Overall, there are nearly 200 vaccination sites in the five boroughs so far. Appointments are scheduled directly with the host site or partner provider who work with community organizations and community leaders to identify New Yorkers from that specific community who are eligible to obtain a vaccination.
The state is trying to sweeten the vaccine deal even more, rolling out a slate of new incentives Monday that include free tickets to some of the city's most iconic attractions and free weekly MetroCards.
Those who get vaccinated in the city can get free tickets and deals for the NYC Aquarium, Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Bronx Zoo, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Cyclones, NYC Ferry and the Public Theater among other popular attractions, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced.
Getting a vaccine at a subway, Long Island Rail Road or Metro-North hub this Wednesday through Sunday will come with benefits as well -- in the form of a free ride, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday. LIRR and Metro-North are offering vaccination sites at two stations in Ossining and Hempstead. Anyone who gets vaccinated at a designated subway station during that window gets a free seven-day MetroCard and anyone vaccinated at an LIRR or Metro-North hub earn two free one-way trips anywhere in the service area
Monday's offerings add to a growing pool of incentives across the tri-state area -- one that includes everything from free beer to free tickets to upcoming Yankees and Mets games -- as elected officials seek to reach those less motivated to get shots.
The City offers free transportation to and from vaccine sites for adults who are over age 65 or have an ambulatory, visual, intellectual, or developmental disability. To reserve transportation, including ambulette and cab options, call 877-VAX-4-NYC. An operator will walk through eligibility and provide other options over the phone based on the caller's need.
On Monday, April 12, de Blasio was on hand to celebrate the opening of a new Times Square vaccination site dedicated to the theater industry. The mayor announced plans to launch that dedicated vaccination site late last month. In reaffirming the opening Monday, de Blasio said the site would also serve film and TV workers.
St. John's University will begin to distribute the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to current students beginning on Wednesday, April 28 at its Queens Campus. New York State is providing the vaccine and St. John's will administer these vaccines to the campus community while supplies last. The vaccinations will take place from noon until 4 p.m. at the Taffner Field House at St. John's University, Queens Campus located at 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, New York. Students must enter Gate 4 at Union Turnpike and 175th Street.
St. John's is scheduled to receive 1,170 vaccine doses and students from the Queens, Staten Island, and Manhattan campuses are encouraged to pre-register to schedule a vaccine appointment at the Queens Campus. The university is one of a number of local colleges and universities mandating COVID-19 vaccines for students to attend in-person classes.
To see the remainder of other recently announced pop-up sites, scroll to the New York State section below.
Tracking Coronavirus in Tri-State
HOW DO I FIND A VACCINATION SITE IN OR NEAR MY NYC NEIGHBORHOOD?
You can find a COVID-19 vaccine site using the Vaccine Finder tool. The finder is designed to make the process easier for New Yorkers to find provider locations closest to their home and to schedule an appointment for vaccination.
Please note that each provider manages their own schedules and appointments. This tool is meant to aggregate all of that information and make it easily accessible to New Yorkers.
WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFORE MY APPOINTMENT?
If you qualify, then you will need to complete the New York State COVID-19 Immunization Form (PDF) in order to get vaccinated. The state requires the provider who administers the vaccine to verify that you completed the form.
Before visiting a site for your vaccination, consider the following tips:
- Reschedule your appointment if you are not feeling well on the day you scheduled the visit.
- Wear the mask for your appointment. You will not be admitted to the site without one.
- After receiving the vaccine, you will undergo a 15-minute observation period before you can leave.
Those who receive their first dose will receive a vaccination card, as well as an appointment for the second dose.
When Could I Get the Vaccine?
Answer the questions to calculate your risk profile and see where you fall in your county's and state's vaccine lineup. This estimate is based on a combination of vaccine rollout recommendations from the CDC and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
For a more detailed breakdown of who is included in each priority group, see this methodology.
Source: the Vaccine Allocation Planner for COVID-19 by Ariadne Labs and the Surgo Foundation
Interactive by Amy O’Kruk/NBC
New York State
If you think you meet the criteria to receive the vaccine, you will need to fill out the New York State form at https://am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/.
If you qualify, the website displays a confirmation message and provides a list of nearby provider and pharmacy locations that can administer the vaccine. You can also receive a certification by email.
In some locations, there is a website to schedule an appointment. For others, there is a phone number you must call to set up a reservation.
If you are unable to complete the form online, the state launched the hotline 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829) to assist you with finding out if you are eligible and scheduling an appointment to receive the vaccine.
You can also check a list of locations by New York region right here.
State-run mass sites can be found throughout the state, including at:
- The New York State Fair Expo Center in Syracuse
- In White Plains at the Westchester County Center
- Three locations on Long Island: SUNY Stony Brook Southampton Campus, Suffolk Community College in Brentwood and SUNY Old Westbury
- Two sites in the Hudson Valley: Diana Physical Education Center at SUNY Orange and the Ulster County Fairgrounds in New Paltz
- Rockland Community College's Eugene Levy Fieldhouse in Suffern
- The Queensbury Aviation Mall in the Capital Region
- SUNY Oneonta in the Mohawk Valley
- Corning Community College in the Southern Tier
- The Conference and Events Center - Niagara Falls in Western New York
On March 25, the MTA announced it was launching a new vaccination site at the Jamaica LIRR Station in Queens – increasing employee accessibility to COVID-19 vaccine.
To date, more than 21,000 employees have been vaccinated with thousands more expected in the coming weeks. The new center, located within the Jamaica Control Center building is open every Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Partner Mobile Health provides nurses, pharmacists, EMTs and other medical support. Every Friday 200 MTA employees will be able to receive the Pfizer vaccine at the new location.
Federal Emergency Management Agency will establish four additional community-based vaccination sites in Buffalo, Rochester, Albany and Yonkers. These four major vaccination sites outside of New York City will vaccinate approximately 1,000 New Yorkers each day beginning the first week of March, and appointments will be initially reserved for members of the community in which the sites are located.
Eligible New Yorkers are able to schedule appointments to these FEMA mass vaccination sites by utilizing New York's 'Am I Eligible' website or by calling the state's COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline at 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829).
The four sites are located at the addresses below. Each are operating from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.:
- Buffalo, Erie County: Delavan Grider Community Center, 877 E. Delavan Ave., Buffalo, NY 14215
- Rochester, Monroe County: Former Kodak Hawkeye parking lot at Ave E, 1345 St. Paul Street, Rochester New York, 14621
- Albany, Albany County: Washington Ave. Armory, 195 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12210
- Yonkers, Westchester County: New York National Guard Armory, 2 Quincy Place, Yonkers, NY 10701
On June 10, Cuomo announced that due to low positivity rates and a plummeting demand for them, New York would start demobilizing state-run drive-thru COVID testing sites. The governor said that with the heavy focus on getting vaccinated, and with the abundance of an array of testing options throughout the state, the dependence on the drive-thru sites wasn't nearly what it once was. He also ensured that no current drive-thru testing appointments would be impacted.
New Jersey
Since April 19, all New Jersey residents age 16 and older have been eligible for the vaccine. Click here to register for the vaccine if you meet the criteria.
New Jersey launched a toll free vaccine hotline to answer general questions about vaccines, determining who is and is not eligible to be vaccinated and help find vaccine locations: 855-568-0545
Medical Questions about COVID-19: 1-800-962-1253 (24/7)
Text NJCOVID to 898-211 for alerts.
With nearly 1,800 vaccination sites across New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy announced on June 2 that the state would begin shutting down some of its vaccination mega-sites in favor of community-based sites.
While there are will still be multiple vaccination sites in each of New Jersey's 21 counties, some mega sites will be fully shut down by mid-July. Here is a breakdown of what mega-sites will be closing, and when:
Rowan College South Jersey, Gloucester County
Final Primary Doses: 5/26
Final Booster Doses: 6/18
Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic County
Final Primary Doses: 5/29
Final Booster Doses: 6/19
The Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, Bergen County
Final Primary Doses: 6/4
Final Booster Doses: 6/24
Moorestown Mall, Burlington County
Final Primary Doses: 7/1
Final Booster Doses: 7/21
Rockaway Townsquare Mall, Morris County
Final Primary Doses: 6/23
Final Booster Doses: 7/16
New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center, Edison, Middlesex County
Final Primary Doses: 6/26
Final Booster Doses: 7/17
The state has a FEMA vaccination center at the Naimoli Family Athletic and Recreational Facility at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark. That site has the capacity to vaccinate 6,000 individuals per day, seven days per week, and all vaccines there come from the federal government's supply, meaning it won't count as part of the state's allocation.
New Jersey said its aim is to vaccinate 70% of the adult population in a six-month period.
Additionally, New Jersey currently lists 120 satellite sites on its vaccine center web portal. Health officials said not all sites appear on the list as some are not yet open to the public, such as those in prisons and psychiatric hospitals. The state also has two FEMA-run sites in Trenton and Vineland.
WHAT INFORMATION WILL I BE ASKED WHEN I RECEIVE THE VACCINE?
Every person who receives the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in New Jersey will automatically be enrolled in the New Jersey Immunization Information System, under an executive order issued in November by Governor Murphy. This system already enrolls anyone born after January 1, 1998 to track compliance with mandatory school immunizations and avoid unnecessary duplication of immunizations. During the COVID-19 public health emergency, it will also automatically include adults who receive a COVID vaccine. Thirty days after the public health emergency is declared over, adults can “opt out” of the registry.
Vaccine administrators will need contact information to keep track of the vaccine you received and to remind you of the need for a second dose. They are also likely to request information to determine your priority group and insurance coverage, although the state Department of Health has not answered questions about what specific information will be collected.
Connecticut
Information on eligibility and immunization schedule can be found at ct.gov/covidvaccine/access.
All Connecticut residents 12 and older are eligible to get an appointment for a coronavirus vaccine (with only Pfizer available to those 17 and younger). In order to help administer as many vaccines as possible with the largest group now eligible, 100 additional pharmacies throughout the state were added to the list of locations where shots are available.
As a way to speed up the process even further, clinic locations no longer require appointments — those who want a vaccine simply have to walk up and be eligible for the vaccine. Here are some of the no-reservation locations in and close to Fairfield County:
- English Apothecary, Bethel
- West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District Bloomfield Senior Center, Bloomfield,
- Southwest Community Health Center, Bridgeport
- Yale New Haven Health Clinic (University of Bridgeport Wheeler Recreation Center), Bridgeport
- Brookfield Health Department, Brookfield
- Costco Pharmacy, Brookfield
- Greater Danbury Community Health Center, Danbury
- Community Health Center, Inc. (Danbury Fair Mall), Danbury
- Fairfield Health Department, Fairfield
- Yale New Haven Health Clinic (Brunswick School Sampson Fieldhouse), Greenwich
- Family Centers Health Care Mobile Clinic, Greenwich
- Costco Pharmacy, Milford
- Milford Pharmacy
- New Milford Department of Health Clinic, Milford
- Milford Health Department Clinic (Parsons Gymnasium), Milford
- New Fairfield Department of Health Clinic, New Fairfield
- Cornell Scott-Hill Wilson Library Clinic (lower level), New Haven
- Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center, New Haven
- Yale New Haven Health Clinic (Floyd Little Fieldhouse), New Haven
- Yale New Haven Health Clinic (Lanman Center), New Haven
- Costco Pharmacy, Norwalk
- Community Health Center, Inc. (Lord & Taylor), Stamford
- Brass Mill Pharmacy, Waterbury
- City of Waterbury & Saint Mary’s Hospital COVID Vaccination Clinic, Waterbury
- Costco Pharmacy, Waterbury
- Stoll’s Pharmacy, Waterbury
- Royal Pharmacy, Waterbury
- Yale New Haven Health Clinic (West Campus), West Haven
It's important to remember that access to vaccines and information change rapidly, so check back often for the most up-to-date information.
