Nassau Coliseum slated to become Covid-19 vaccination site

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Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum will be a Covid-19 vaccination site, County Executive Laura Curran announced over the weekend.

“We’re focused on continuing to ramp up our capacity for vaccination as more supply is anticipated to arrive in the coming weeks," Curran said in a statement. "All of our residents must have access to the Covid-19 vaccine, and this iconic site gives us the ability to deliver the vaccine rapidly. I would like to thank the New York Islanders for so graciously sharing their home with the community, as well as the management team at Nassau Live for helping pave the way to Nassau’s comeback.”

The Coliseum will be the third major vaccination site opened by Nassau County. The county is already operating sites at Nassau Community College and the Yes We Can Community Center in Westbury, in addition to one-day pop-up sites in communities of color that have been most affected by the pandemic.

The Coliseum vaccination site is scheduled to open later in March and will be located on the lower-level exhibition hall.  

Earlier, Curran had released a statement on the first anniversary of Nassau's first confirmed Covid-19 case that read: "We remember the 2,935 precious lives lost [in the county] and look forward to the future with renewed hope. Nassau continues to lead the way among major New York counties in getting residents vaccinated, which is a very positive signal for our recovery."

As of Sunday, 22 percent, or a little more than one-fifth, of Nassau residents had received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to Curran.

She noted, however, that Nassau residents must remain vigilant in the fight against the coronavirus and continue to wear masks and maintain social distancing. "Although we’ve seen a major decline in cases and hospitalizations since our winter peak," she said, "we’re not out of the woods just yet."