Only 108K Coronavirus Vaccine Doses Headed To NYC This Week

NEW YORK CITY — A constellation of coronavirus vaccination sites spread over the city now has the capacity to put 500,000 shots into New Yorkers' arms a week, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

But there's a catch — the city's next vaccine resupply is only about 108,000 doses, de Blasio said.

"This is a message we have to our colleagues in government: in New York City we can move so fast, please help us get the supply because I guarantee you we can get it to people fast, fast, fast or faster than any place else," he said Monday. "When I'm telling you we can do a half million in a week, that is an indication of our confidence that how quickly we can implement if we have what we need."

The city's and state's supply woes have slowed the once-sluggish, now-chugging coronavirus vaccination rollout.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week said the state as a whole was on pace to run out of vaccines entirely. By Monday, de Blasio said the city still had 19,032 first doses remaining — not nothing but a drop in the bucket for a city that has administered 628,831 total doses equivalent to the size of Louisville, Kentucky.

The shortfall prompted city vaccination centers to reschedule at least 23,000 first-dose appointments and temporarily shutter vaccination hubs. De Blasio on Monday said planned vaccine "mega sites" at Citi Field, Yankee Stadium and Empire Outlets have been postponed.

"We have mega sites like Citi Field and Yankee Stadium ready to go," he said. "We want to get those to be full-blown, 24-hour operations, but we don't have the vaccine."