COVID-19 Vaccinations

Appointments are required to receive a vaccination. To determine your eligibility, access a list of nearby providers, and schedule your vaccination appointment, use New York State’s Am I Eligible app. Prior to receiving your scheduled vaccination, you must complete the New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Form. Please be patient and continue to monitor these links frequently for available vaccine appointments:

New York City: https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov/ or 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692)

New York State: https://am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/ or call 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829)

VaccineTogetherNY: https://vaccinetogetherny.org/Pages/default.aspx or call 646-697-VACC

To schedule an appointment, go to: https://vax4nyc.nyc.gov/patient/s/.

To find a vaccination site, go to: https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov/locations.

Your physician or local pharmacy may also have information on scheduling vaccine appointments.

 

If you need transportation to get your vaccine appointment, click this link for a list of options: https://forms.ny.gov/s3/vaccine.

 

To schedule an appointment at Yankee Stadium, you can also call 1-833-SomosNY. Another new mass vaccination site opened at Co-Op City on Thursday, March 4, which is open to all eligible applicants.

 

For trustworthy information on the vaccines and the research behind them, go to: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccine-facts.page.

 

The MTA announced that it has launched a new vaccination site locator on its live subway map. See the map here:

https://map.mta.info/#@40.70949,-73.97853,14z

 

Closure of Bronx High School of Science Vaccination Site

The Bronx High School of Science vaccination site has been closed, effective April 15, and relocated to Edenwald YMCA, at 1250 East 229th Street in the Edenwald section of the Bronx. A new vaccination site apparently opened at Lehman College on Wednesday, April 14. On Saturday, April 17, Bronx BP Ruben Diaz Jr. also confirmed that the following Bronx sites are vaccinating New Yorkers 50+ without an appointment:

• Bronx Co-Op City Dreiser Community Center
• Northeast Bronx YMCA (Edenwald)
• South Bronx Educational Campus
• West Bronx Gymnasium
• Lehman College – Apex Center
• Bathgate Contract Postal Station

 

The City also confirmed on the same day that walk-up COVID-19 vaccinations for New Yorkers ages 50 years & older are now available at all City-run vaccine sites: nyc.gov/vcc. A list of Bronx COVID-19 vaccination sites from April 12 to April 18 is listed below.

 

More Help with Scheduling Vaccine Appointments

Epicenter-NYC is a volunteer group, assisting New Yorkers to find and schedule vaccine appointments, particularly the elderly, and anyone not adept at using the internet. More details can be found here:

https://epicenter-nyc.com/epicenters-vaccine-resources/ or my emailing hello@epicenter-nyc.com.

 

Separately, and additionally, the turbovax site, https://www.turbovax.info/, scans the websites of all providers offering the vaccine throughout the city and lists their available appointments.

 

Another volunteer group who go by the Twitter handle @VaccineschedNYC and Instagram handle @VaccineSchedulerNYC are also helping vulnerable populations like seniors and non-native English speakers to book vaccine appointments. For questions, contact VaccineSchedulerNYC@gmail.com or phone/text: 646-494-7029.

 

Bronx Rising Initiative, a nonprofit launched in 2020, has launched a homebound vaccine initiative to help inoculate Bronx seniors where they live, in partnership with local community organizations which are already serving homebound seniors. Residents can sign-up at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/getvaccinated.

 

Free COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic

Al Masjidu Adam Community Life Center for Human Excellence in Partnership with NYC Health & Hospitals Test + Trace Corps are holding a free COVID-19 vaccination clinic at 2263 Crotona Avenue, The Bronx, NY 10457 on April 17 & 18 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. To schedule an appointment, contact Mamadou Sire Bah at (347) 755-0444 or email msirebah@cityhall.nyc.gov or Mir Ali at (929) 237-8400 or email mali@cau.nyc.gov. Visit https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov for the most up-to-date eligibility list. Bring any form of ID (including national passport) as well as documentation showing vaccine eligibility (document showing age, employee ID, physician note, etc.)

 

Latest Updates on Vaccine Eligibility

Who is now eligible? The COVID-19 vaccine is now available to all New York residents 16 and older. People who live outside of the state but work or study in New York are also eligible to get vaccinated. People who are eligible based on employment include both paid and unpaid workers.

Note: People who are 16 or 17 years old are only eligible for the Pfizer vaccine.

Proof of eligibility is needed at your appointment. If you have questions, call the New York State COVID-19 hotline at 833-NYS-4-VAX (833-697-4829).

 

Important Vaccine Update re Johnson & Johnson Vaccine 

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker issued a statement regarding the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on April 13, following the CDC and the FDA recommending a pause in the use of the J&J vaccine out of an abundance of caution. New York State has followed this recommendation and paused the use of the J&J vaccine statewide as of April 13, while these health and safety agencies evaluate next steps. Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the White House coronavirus task force, said on April 14 that the CDC expects the pause to last days, not months.

 

Almost 8 million Americans have received the Johnson & Johnson shot so far.

 

On Friday, April 23, a CDC vaccine advisory committee recommended that the nationwide pause on the use of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine should be lifted following the completion of the investigation, as reported by The Hill.

 

The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 10-4 with one abstention, that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the risks, and that it will save lives, according to The Hill report.

 

The report added that the panel did not specifically ask for a warning label, but recommended that the FDA add a label intended to make providers aware of the risk of a rare complication involving blood clots in women under the age of 50.

 

In accordance with the updated FDA fact sheet, if you receive the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine, and within three weeks, you experience any of the following symptoms, you should contact your health care provider:

• Severe headache
• Chest or abdominal pain
• Leg pain or swelling
• Shortness of breath
• Easy bruising or tiny blood spots under the skin at the site of injection

 

COVID-19 Testing Sites

For a full list of COVID-19 testing sites, text “COVID TEST” to 855-48 or go to:

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/coronavirus/get-tested/covid-19-testing.page.

 

Help with SSI Benefits

People can apply for SSI benefits, and other benefit programs, through a telephone appointment with the agency, even while local offices are not able to accept walk-in visitors. People can call toll-free 1-800-772-1213, or their local Social Security office, to make a phone appointment to apply for SSI.  People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call Social Security’s TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.

A new webpage at www.socialsecurity.gov/thirdparty, is available for anyone who can assist another person with accessing Social Security’s programs and services. Information on how to help support children with disabilities can be found at www.socialsecurity.gov/benefits/disability/apply-child.html).

  

Rent Relief

Democrat & Chronicle reported on April 7 that New Yorkers who have been unable to pay rent during the COVID-19 pandemic may soon be eligible for relief of up to 12 months of rent and utilities accrued since March 13, 2020, under a federally funded program included in the State’s $212 billion new budget. Administered by NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), the relief will be based on financial need, and the degree to which renters were financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and residents would be eligible irrespective of immigration status. In addition, a household which pays more than 30 percent of income toward rent each month can qualify for three additional months of prospective rent, or future rent. The program also provides for one year of eviction protection for tenants who qualify. For more information, contact OTDA at nyspio@otda.ny.gov or by phone on 518-473-1090.

 

NW Bronx Food Justice Project

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz provided the following April/May schedules for the NW Bronx Food Justice Project – Emergency Food Resources in Marble Hill and Kingsbridge Heights:

• St. Stephens United Methodist Church: 146 W. 228th St., Bronx 10463 – Tuesdays April 6th & 20th from 2:00 – 4:00 and Tuesdays, May 4th and 18th from 2:00 – 4:00. For more information go to: rssny.org/nwbronxfoodjustice
• Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC): 3101 Kingsbridge Terrace at Summit Place, Bronx 10463 – weekly: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 12:00 – 2:30. For more information go to: www.khcc-nyc.org/program/food-pantry or email Will Littleton at wlittleton@khcc-nyc.org
• Friendly Fridge: 5977 Broadway (242nd Street and Broadway), Contact: thefriendlyfridgebx@gmail.com
• Bailey Fridge: 3016 Bailey Ave
• For more information contact the Northwest Bronx Food Justice Project at foodjusticebronx@gmail.com.

 

Bronx River Arts Center (BRAC) Spring Semester Classes

Register today for BRAC’s spring semester of art and digital classes. Virtual or hybrid classes will run from Saturday, April 10 to Monday, June 21, 2021. Classes will be held on Zoom or hybrid, with some live sessions as allowed by State and CDC Guidelines for Open Culture.

BRAC’s digital classes include photography, digital illustration, and digital animation. A limited number of temporary subscriptions of Adobe Photoshop for registered participants at no additional costs is available. Anyone interested in this offer should email info@bronxriverart.org. Please add “Adobe Photoshop” in the subject line. Subscriptions are limited and are assigned on a first come first served basis. For general questions about classes, please email info@bronxriverart.org.