NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — New York City has been forced to postpone its plans to open mega COVID-19 vaccination sites at Citi Field, Yankee Stadium and at the Empire Outlets on Staten Island due to a lack of supply.
"We have mega sites like Citi Field and Yankee Stadium ready to go," de Blasio said at his daily briefing Monday. "We want to get those to be full-blown, 24-hour operations but we don't have the vaccine.''
The mayor indicated that when it comes to the vaccine supply, New York has hit rock bottom.
"Right now New York City has on hand 19,000 first doses. We're expecting 107,000 more in the next few days — the weekly resupply, but again look at that number, that doesn't even give us the beginning of what we need for a week," de Blasio said, noting that the city's goal is to administer 500,000 per week.
Last week, the city aimed to administer 300,000 vaccine doses, but were only about to give 200,000 shots.
Health department officials report hospitals are doing well, without the sudden exponential explosions of cases that plagued them in the spring.
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The mayor seems to be investing a lot of hope in the not-yet-approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which some believe might get the green light in just weeks.
"First and most importantly why the Johnson & Johnson is a game changer, it's a single shot, a single dose does the whole job," the mayor said.
His senior adviser, Dr. Jay Varma, said there's a potential to receive a supply of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by the end of February or the beginning of March.
"A single-shot vaccine is a total game changer. Whether it first shows up in New York City in February versus March is a very fair open question," the mayor said.
The current vaccines approved for use from Moderna and Pfizer both require two doses.
De Blasio also said the Biden administration is supremely focused on the vaccine issue, and reported he has been urging them to push the manufacturers and to break down the barriers and silos.
"What is so clear now is the commitment of the Biden administration and the leading health experts in the administration to finding every conceivable way to get us more vaccine quickly," de Blasio said, acknowledging that he doesn't know what the administration's game plan is yet.
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