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Coronavirus Updates: NYC Vaccination Appointment Hotline Will Soon Run 24/7
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Jan 13, 2021
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Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Jan 13, 2021
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This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Wednesday, January 13th, 2021. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.
New York City is in Phase 4 of reopening now, which includes zoos, botanical gardens, museums, and gyms. Citing rising hospitalization rates, Governor Andrew Cuomo suspended indoor dining in NYC starting December 14th. After being shut down for several weeks, NYC public schools partially reopened on December 7th for 3K-5th grade students, with students with special needs returning on December 10th. Certain parts of Staten Island remain under a zoned shutdown.
Get answers to questions you may have with our "Ask An Epidemiologist" series, or learn more about NYC COVID-19 testing options with our explainer. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.
Here's the latest:
- "We Need An Army": Councilmembers Grill Health Officials Over Slow Vaccine Rollout
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New Yorkers will soon be able to make a coronavirus vaccine appointment over the phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the expanded hotline hours on Wednesday, following a flood of complaints about the city and state online appointment systems.
The hotline—877-VAX-4NYC—should be running round the clock by the end of the week, he said. It is currently operating from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., seven days a week.
The city has pledged to hire more customer service representatives for the hotline, which is currently manned by 750 agents. De Blasio said the current wait time for callers is between 10 to 15 minutes on average.
"We want to bring that down, but it is something that people can generally manage," the mayor said.
Dr. Ted Long, the head of the city’s test and trace program, said the hotline should be able to handle callers who speak any language.
New York is in the first week of an expanded vaccine rollout that now includes New Yorkers 65 and older as well as police, firefighters, teachers and other essential workers, Although he acknowledged the frustrations that many have faced in scheduling their appointments, de Blasio said his more pressing concern was that the city would run out of vaccines as early as next week.
As of Wednesday morning, the city had administered nearly 268,000 doses—or 33%—of around 794,000 that have been distributed to providers.
De Blasio called on the federal government to step up its supply and release all of the doses at its disposal rather than setting aside some for second doses.
"All doses being held back by the federal government need to be released right now," he said. "The same dose could be used for a first dose or a second dose. It doesn't matter, but holding back vaccine, when we have tens of thousands of New Yorkers ready to be vaccinated right now makes no sense at all."
The mayor said he was hopeful the supplies would ramp up under a new President. Last month, a member of President-elect Joe Biden's COVID-19 advisory team,told CNBC that Biden planned to invoke the Defense Production Act to spur the production of vaccines.
In the meantime, New York City has been rapidly expanding the number of vaccine sites, with 24/7 sites opening across the five boroughs.
Wednesday marked the state's opening of a 24/7 vaccination site at Manhattan's Jacob Javits Center, which housed hospital beds for COVID patients during the height of the pandemic in the spring.
De Blasio also announced that city officials were in discussions with the New York Yankees to conduct large-scale vaccinations at its stadium in the Bronx. On Tuesday, the city announced that the New York Mets had agreed to allow Citi Field to be used as a vaccination center.
Tagged
covid-19 updates
coronavirus
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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