Nearly 18 months after the opening of a COVID-19 vaccination site at the New York State Fairgrounds, the clinic will close on Thursday.
The closure was quietly announced on a state website listing its mass vaccination clinics. By the end of Thursday, all of the state-run vaccination sites will cease operations. Some of the clinics shut down earlier this month.
Jeffrey Hammond, a spokesman for the state Department of Health, confirmed the closure of the state fairgrounds' vaccination clinic.
"New York state's mass vaccination sites were originally set up to rapidly deploy the COVID-19 vaccine to the public at large as efficiently as possible," he said. "Since that time, a network of more than 8,500 providers joined the vaccination effort and now delivers the bulk of vaccinations statewide — with over 39 million doses of vaccines administered to date.
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"As vaccines have become widely available, demand at state-run sites has declined precipitously. With the broad network of providers and vaccine access, the cost of operating state-run sites is no longer warranted."
The mass vaccination site at the state fairgrounds opened in January 2021 at the Expo Center. Early on in the statewide vaccination effort, it was a popular site for New Yorkers seeking protection against COVID-19.
When the state began downsizing its mass vaccination offerings last summer, the fairgrounds maintained a clinic at a different location. In July 2021, the site moved from the Expo Center to the fair's Art & Home Center.
According to the state Department of Health, 474,417 people received at least one vaccine dose at the state fair.
However, there is no longer high demand for public clinics due to the wide availability of vaccines and the large number of New Yorkers who are vaccinated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 77.7% of the state's residents are fully vaccinated and 90.9% have received at least one vaccine dose.
Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.