New York City is expanding its vaccine sites to include more cultural institutions as part of an effort to get families vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city wants to encourage and incentivize more families to get their shot, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously authorized the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for 12 to 15 year olds, during his daily press conference on May 20.
“A whole family can go to a vaccination site together,” de Blasio said.
The Brooklyn Children’s Museum, located at 145 Brooklyn Ave., will have a vaccine site as of Thursday. After an individual or family gets vaccinated, they can get a free same-day admission to the museum and a family pass for a future visit, according to the mayor.
The mayor said the same options will soon be available at the Bronx Zoo and the New York Aquarium in Coney Island, and more.
De Blasio reminded that there is also a vaccine site at the American Museum of Natural History, which opened in April, where New Yorkers can get their shot right underneath the museum’s iconic blue whale model.
“Now that we have this new age group, I think a lot of young people are going to love the idea of getting vaccinated there, below the whale,” de Blasio said. “It’s something they’ll be able to talk about for the rest of their lives, something positive, something fun.”
According to the city’s indicators, there are currently 90 patients admitted to hospitals for suspected COVID-19 with a confirmed positivity level of 16.7% and hospitalizations per 100,000 is down to 0.89. New reported cases on 7-day average is also down at 513, and the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 is down to 1.37%.
The mayor attributes the steady decrease to more COVID-19 vaccinations.
He also noted an “important milestone” in the city, as it’s reached 4 million first doses (4,157,600) as of Thursday, May 20. The city has so far administered more than 7 million (7,753,184) total doses of the COVID-19 vaccines.
“More vaccination equals less COVID, equals more freedom,” de Blasio said. “That’s what we’re seeing right now.”
