How to Get a FREE Covid Vaccination in NYC: Update

Update: It’s not easy to get a Covid vaccination in NYC, even with hubs open 24/7 in each borough and hundreds more locations in community centers and pharmacies.  Simply, demand is out-stripping supply, and some locations have run out.

There are multiple websites where you can register, complicating things further. 

Vaccinations are FREE. Appointments are required.  No walk-ins are permitted anywhere. 

Here is our guide to how and where to get a FREE Covid vaccination in NYC and the Metro Area:

Scam alert:

Do not be scammed by social media or emails offering “cut the line” privileges, including for a fee

Do not be scammed by social media or emails advising that a particular location is open to anybody, whether or not your are eligible.

Appointments are required so recipients can be grouped together when a vial of vaccine is removed from its required refrigeration, to make maximum use of each precious vial.

There are THREE different NYC and NYState government websites where you can register and request appointments, plus hospital networks. 

Depending which one you choose will determine which vaccination site or sites you are referred to.

It’s just part of the confusion – and frustration – you should be prepared to deal with to get a Covid vaccination.

You may have to try several websites before you get lucky – literally – and get an appointment.  And even if you have an appointment, you may be turned away, if the location runs out of supplies before your turn.

Who is Eligible Now for Covid Vaccinations in New York City:

The list includes teachers, police, firefighters, transit workers, healthcare workers, home nursing home residents and staff, anyone over 75, and those with compromised immune systems and other health issues. 

That was the rule as of Monday, Jan 11, just before the CDC widened eligibility nationwide to anybody over 65.

That means additional demand for limited supplies of vaccine and longer waits for appointments.

The vaccination situation is changing daily, and NYCOTC is doing our best to keep up with the changes.

Find out if you are eligible on this the official New York State website

You can also register for an appointment with a NYC hospital system, such as Mt. Sinai, with multiple locations in several boroughs.  Those links are below.

NYCOTC Editor Evelyn Kanter was lucky – I got an appointment at an independent local pharmacy two blocks from home, and got my first vaccination on Jan. 12, and my booster is scheduled for early in February.  

Mega Site Hubs Now open 24/7:

Brooklyn – Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park

Bronx – Bathgate Contract Postal Station

Eligible recipients with appointment times can visit the Brooklyn Army Terminal or Bathgate Contract Postal Station for around-the-clock vaccination.

Manhattan -125 Worth Street

Also, there is a mega site hub at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, now open 24/7.

Schedule your appointment here for the Javits Convention Center.  Note that the Javits location is operated by NY State, not NYC, so it’s a different website than the other mega sites.

The Javits facility is one of the largest in the USA, able to provide 10,000 vaccinations in a 12 hour period.

See Also

Coronavirus symptoms

What to do if you are sick

NYC & NY State Quarantine rules

Vacinnation Mega Sites opening soon:

Queens –

• at the Queens Theater, the week of Jan. 19
• at Citifield, the week of Jan. 25

Staten Island –

• at Empire Outlets the week after Jan. 19

Manhattan –

• at La Marqueta in the first week of February

Bronx

• NYC is holding talks with the New York Yankees to open a mega site at Yankee Stadium.

Additional Community Vaccination Sites:

Open now, seven days a week, 9am to 7pm.  

Brooklyn – Bushwick Educational Campus

Queens –  Hillcrest High School

Bronx –  South Bronx Educational Campus.

Manhattan  – Abyssinian Baptist Church, Harlem

Advance appointment scheduling on the city’s Department of Health website is required.

Manhattan – Javits Convention Center is open 8am to 6:30pm daily.

• Note that the Javits site is operated by NY State, not NYC, so you have to register on the New York State website

By the end January  the city will have 160 vaccination sites open in total, in all of the five boroughs, including in high schools and in community centers, along with hospitals, clinics and federally qualified health centers and urgent care.

NOTE – CVS and Duane Reade/Walgreen’s locations in NYC are not offering Covid vaccinations to the general public.

When the vaccine becomes available to the general public, they will be able to vaccinate up to 2,000 people a day.

Governor Andrew Cuomo estimates with the available vaccine, it will be April before everyone in the eligible groups who want a vaccine will be able to get one.

How to Get an Appointment for a Free Covid Vaccination:

First, make sure you are eligible.

Find out  on this the official New York State website

Your name, address and birthdate is required to register and find out if you are eligible.

If you are eligible, a list of nearby locations will pop-up by zipcode. 

Those qualified can register for a vaccine on the city’s website. 

There is also a telephone number to call for a reservation.  Call 877-VAX-4NYC.

Additional places to register for a Covid vaccination

NYC Dept. of Health sites:

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccines.page

Mount Sinai Hospitals in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn:

https://www.mountsinai.org/about/covid19/vaccine-information/schedule

NYU Langone:

https://nyulangone.org/locations/covid-19-vaccine

Columbia New York Presbyterian & Weill Cornell Medicine:

https://www.myconnectnyc.org/MyChart/Authentication/Login

Northwell Health:

https://www.northwell.edu/coronavirus-covid-19/vaccine

Locations at 199 Amsterdam Ave. at West 69th St. and Lenox Hill Hospital (131 East 76th St.)

Have you received your Covid-19 vaccination yet? 

Let us know what your experience was. 

Add a comment below.