ICYMI: Coronavirus Vaccination Site Opens At LIU Post

BROOKVILLE, NY — A coronavirus vaccine site at the Long Island University Post School of Health Professions and Nursing in Brookville opened Friday.

The site will be operated by students and staff and overseen by the Nassau County Department of Public Health, County Executive Laura Curran said Wednesday.

"This partnership will allow [the county] to use not just the space, but the skill of the students, the teachers, and the faculty to administer the doses," Curran said during a news conference.

The site will focus on vaccinating people in the 1B group, which includes law enforcement, firefighters, teachers, school staff, grocery and restaurant workers, taxi drivers and other workers who have heavy contact with the public.

Curran noted the state's vaccine eligibility list will expand on Monday to include people with comorbidities, or underlying health issues that make them more susceptible to COVID-19 complications. The conditions include cancer and heart, lung and kidney diseases. People will be required to sign a form saying they have underlying health conditions; a doctor's note is not required.

Curran said the county is committed to getting shots in as many arms as possible. "The supply is not opening up that much, but we want to make sure that we have the infrastructure in place to accommodate the eligibility as the supply does open up," she said.

Health Commissioner Dr. Larry Eisenstein said the county only receives about 2,800 doses of vaccines to distribute per week, but there are hundreds of thousands seeking the vaccine. He expects the supply of vaccines to open up with the introduction of Johnson and Johnson's vaccine to the market.

County officials plan to start relatively small distributing "a couple hundred" shots per day at LIU Post and it will build from there, he said.

"We know there is not enough vaccines today, but in a month there may be," he said. "We may need many places. It's going to range everything from a single doctor's office to the giant stadium model that you have seen. This is going to be somewhere in between."

LIU Post School of Health Professions and Nursing Dean Dr. Denise Walsh called the partnership with the county an opportunity for students and faculty to give back to the community.

"It is also an exceptional learning opportunity for the students to learn about the humanitarian efforts that are going on globally," she said.