As COVID-19 cases rise again in New York and across the
nation, vaccination sites are closing their doors for good.
The mass vaccination site at Jones Beach State Park will
officially close Monday. It was one of the first mass vaccination sites to open
on Long Island in January.
The shutdown comes as the number of New Yorkers looking to
get vaccinated declines, but COVID-19 positivity rates are starting to climb
back up.
“The delta variant is about 50% of the new positives cases
in the state,” says Dr. John Zaso. “It's about 20-30 times more contagious than
the regular COVID we're dealing with.”
Nassau County has one of the highest vaccination rates in
the state with about 80% having received at least one dose. Suffolk County is
about 73%.
New York state Park Commissioner Erik Kulleseid thanked all of the health care workers who spent months vaccinating close to 200,000 Long Islanders.
"Thank you everyone here for everything you've done for the people in the state of New York to keep us healthy and to get us back on the right course to recovery," says Kulleseid.
Jones Beach is one of four in the state that are closing
Monday. Instead the state now plans on bringing vaccines to specific areas
where the vaccination rate is lower than the state or countywide average.
Suffolk Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott says the county will be providing rotating vaccination sites in the communities that need it the most. He says although the mass vaccination sites are closing it doesn't mean Long Island or the state are out of the woods.
Mount Sinai South Nassau and Town of Hempstead are bringing
their vaxmobile to the Valley Stream middle school Monday afternoon to make it
more convenient for people in the area to get their vaccine.
The vaxmobile will be at Valley Stream Middle School on Monday, Harold Walker
Memorial Park on Tuesday, Uniondale District Firehouse on Wednesday, Long Beach
Catholic/boardwalk on Thursday and the Valley Stream Car Show on Friday.