Pop-Up Coronavirus Vaccination Site Coming To Bayside This Week

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — A temporary COVID-19 vaccination site will open this week in Bayside as part of a statewide network of community-based pop-up sites, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday.

Korean Community Services, at 203-05 32nd Ave., will administer first doses of the coronavirus vaccine Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. by appointment only.

There will be 250 doses available each day, City Council Member Paul Vallone said on Twitter.

Appointments can be scheduled through Somos Community Care by clicking here or calling 1-833-SOMOSNY.

The vaccine site will return in three weeks to administer second doses, according to the governor's office.

"The vaccine is the weapon that will win the war against COVID, however to be truly effective, we must ensure it is distributed fairly and equitably," Cuomo said in a statement.

Since January, Cuomo's office has coordinated the opening of temporary vaccination sites at community centers, public housing complexes and cultural centers across New York State in an effort to ensure equity in vaccine distribution and promote trust in the vaccine by partnering with community-based organizations to set up the sites.

White New Yorkers accounted for almost half the vaccine doses given to New York City residents, according to data released at the end of January. Across the state, Black and Hispanic residents are underrepresented among eligible New Yorkers who have gotten a vaccine, data shows.

"By setting up these sites and partnering directly with the leaders and organizations who are trusted voices in these communities, we can simultaneously ensure access to the vaccine, while instilling confidence in it as well," Cuomo said.

The Bayside pop-up site will be the first and only vaccination site in Northeast Queens.

For weeks, local lawmakers have called on the city to open permanent coronavirus vaccination sites in the region to cater to the area's large senior population, Patch previously reported.

The closest vaccination sites to Bayside are in Flushing, according to the city's COVID-19 Vaccine Finder map.

"Thank you to Governor Cuomo for hearing the concerns of our community and opening a pop up site at KCS in Bayside, which will allow 500 residents to be vaccinated without traveling a long distance," Northeast Queens lawmakers said in a joint statement Tuesday. "While this is a welcomed first step, we continue to implore Mayor de Blasio to open permanent vaccination locations throughout Northeast Queens, an area with one of the largest senior populations in the City."

This story has been updated to add New York State data on vaccinations by race and ethnicity.