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New York to begin downscaling state-run COVID-19 vaccination sites

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Posted at 3:34 PM, Jun 18, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-18 15:34:57-04

ALBANY, N.Y. (WKBW) — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the state-run COVID-19 vaccination sites will begin downscaling Monday. The state will continue to focus on communities with low vaccination rates.

According to the governor the decision is based on the statewide progress of vaccinations. Starting Monday and continuing over the course of weeks and months, sites will downscale based on demand, proximity to other vaccination sites, and other locally focused efforts.

"Our network of mass vaccination sites administered the biggest throughput of vaccinations in a short period of time, and thanks to their success we hit the milestones we needed to hit to get back to life as we know it," Governor Cuomo said. "Our statewide progress has been remarkable, but we still need to get more shots into people's arms, particularly in areas that are still lagging on vaccinations. We have to go where the need is greatest, and so many of our mass sites will gradually start downscaling so that we can use our resources to target communities where vaccination rates are still low."

Starting Monday, the mass vaccination sites in Corning, Oneonta, Potsdam and York College will close.

The state previously announced pop-up COVID-19 vaccine sites to target zip codes with lower vaccination rates.

The state has also begun to demobilize some state-run COVID-19 testing sites.