NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo received his COVID-19 vaccine at a Manhattan church on Wednesday.
The governor got the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine at the Mount Neboh Baptist Church in South Harlem around 12:40 p.m. The church is a pop-up vaccination site.
“Do it again!” Cuomo said after getting the shot, emphasizing that it didn’t hurt. "Done? Done."
At Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem in early January, Cuomo said he was "committed to social and racial justice in the distribution of this vaccine" and vowed, "I will not take the vaccine until the vaccine is available for my group in Black, Hispanic and poor communities around the state."
Before getting the shot on Wednesday, Cuomo declared, "Now is the season to rebuild." He said New York state would make a post-pandemic comeback with the help of the vaccines.
"We have to get the vaccine," the governor said. "I said I personally vouch for it. I said I had my mother take the vaccine. When my children are ready, I’m going to have them take the vaccine. Today I’m going to take the vaccine. And I’m going to take the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because I want to make the point, take whatever vaccine you can take. They all work, they are all safe. Don’t try to pick one over the other. Take whatever vaccine you can get."
The church’s senior pastor, Rev. Dr. Johnnie Green Jr., urged members of the community to get vaccinated.
“The vaccine is safe. It’s safe enough for the governor, it’s safe enough for me — I’ve taken both the Pfizer shots — it’s safe enough for Dr. Fauci, it’s safe enough for all of us,” Green said.
“I can understand not wanting to be the first one to get the vaccine,” Green said. “But at this point, there have been over 100 million vaccine doses administered. President Biden, Vice President Harris, leaders of this city and state have gotten the vaccine. So please understand unequivocally that you are not the first, but we don’t want you to be the last either.”
Mount Neboh Baptist Church “has lost too many of our members,” Green said.
“This community has lost too many of our brothers and sisters. It hits us hard and fast, and it’s still a threat to us,” he said. “With the vaccine, we can finally protect ourselves and each other.”