Fifty-three-year-old Pam Adams, a hospice social worker from Harlem, got her coronavirus vaccine at one of the city’s two new mass vaccination sites on Sunday.

“I cried a little bit,” Adams said. “I’m just happy and relieved, sad for everyone who has died. I was surprised at how emotional it was.”

Adams got her shot at the Bathgate Contract Postal Location in Morrisania. 


What You Need To Know

  • The mayor toured one of two mass vaccination sites that opened over the weekend and will be open 24/7 beginning on Monday

  • The mass vaccination sites already up and running include one at the Bathgate Contract postal location in the Bronx and another at the Brooklyn Army Terminal

  • While only two mass vaccination sites were operating by Sunday evening, the mayor vowed that 24/7 vaccination sites would be available in all five boroughs by the end of the week

The other site, which opened over the weekend, is located at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. 

Both sites will be accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week starting Monday, but by appointment only.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said that by the end of the week there will be mass vaccination sites in all five boroughs. 

Each of the locations will look and operate similarly. 

At the Bronx location, two NYPD officers were posted outside to ensure those without appointments would be turned away.

“We ask for documentation of age, what’s the office that you are working with, if you’re associated with a medical practice, and we tell people it’s bad karma to jump a line,” said Dr. Mitch Katz, the president and chief executive officer of NYC Health + Hospitals.

“People really want the vaccine and we want to make sure they get it but we have to prioritize our seniors,” de Blasio said, referring to security measures at the vaccination sites.  

The mayor toured the Bronx location on Sunday afternoon, a day before the number of New Yorkers who qualify for the vaccine increases.

On Monday, the vaccination process opens to New Yorkers over the age of 75, first responders, education workers, public transit employees and public health workers.

They are included in Phase 1b of the state’s vaccine rollout. 

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams addressed those newly-eligible to get the vaccine on Sunday, and asked them to step up and make an appointment.

“I don’t feel like there’s that sense of urgency like there was before. I feel like there’s complacency setting in,” Williams said. “Please have the same sense of urgency that you had when you first began to find out about the coronavirus.”

Health officials said that they’ll be able to vaccinate up to 2,000 patients at the Bronx location alone. 

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., who also toured the mass vaccination center in the Bronx, asked community leaders to be an example for others who might still have reservations about getting vaccinated. 

“If you are a pastor or a community leader or an elected official and you are 75 years and older, this is the time now,” said Diaz, Jr.

The mayor said that by the end of the week, a total of 160 vaccination sites will be operational. 

He pointed out, however, that only certain sites will be open 24/7 and that others will operate during their own business hours. 

To find the closest location go http://nyc.gov/vaccinelocations for more information.