‘Felt like I won the lottery’
NE Queens residents get COVID-19 vaccine at Korean Community Services pop-up site in Bayside
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Lawmakers and the northeast
Queens community celebrated
the opening of its first
temporary pop-up vaccination
site in Bayside on Thursday,
Feb. 11.
Following the announcement
that the Korean Community
Services (KCS) building
would operate as a temporary
COVID vaccination site, elected
officials and representatives
from the Governor’s
Office of Faith-Based Community
Development Services and
Healthfirst toured the facility
as residents began receiving
their first doses.
Cuomo’s office said that 500
Queens residents would get
the opportunity to get inoculated
at 203-05 32nd Ave. from
Feb. 11 to 12. All slots for appointment
were booked on the
first day.
The process involved pharmacists
preparing shots at stations
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.2 COM | FEB. 19-FEB. 25, 2021
before patients received
the vaccines at one of three
nurses stations. Patients then
moved to a waiting area where
they sat, socially distanced,
and were observed by medical
staff for adverse reactions.
QNS spoke with married
couple Lorraine and Joe
Bennett, who had signed up
for vaccinations online and
said the process went “very
smoothly.”
“We had to wait a little bit,
but that is understandable.
They have to thaw the vaccine.
You just have to be a little
patient. I feel happy,” said
Lorraine Bennett.
When they were leaving,
Joe Bennett remarked that he
“didn’t even feel the vaccine
shot.”
Also getting his shot on
Thursday was 84-year-old
Chuen Tsang, accompanied by
his daughter Erica who translated
for him. The woman
said that her father’s experience
was positive and he even
asked if the nurse stuck the
needle in since he didn’t feel
anything.
Erica learned about the
KCS pop-up in email from
Assemblyman Ed Braunstein’s
office and booked an
appointment for her father
that Tuesday.
“I felt like I was lucky to get
this appointment. It felt like I
won the lottery,” Erica said.
All three residents have
scheduled appointments for
their three-week booster shot.
Congresswoman Grace
Meng praised Cuomo for authorizing
the pop-up site, the
first one in northeast Queens.
She said that residents should
look out for additional appointments
in the coming weeks.
Meng also warned of the
rising incidents of racism
against the Asian community.
“Before COVID-19 even hit
us here in New York, we were
already suffering from a different
sort of virus. That of
discrimination and racism.
The rise of incidents against
Asian-Americans continues
to rise,” she said.
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards echoed
praises for the governor and
said that while sites like these
and the hub at Citi Field represent
a good first start, the
federal government needs
to ramp up vaccines for the
whole state.
“We are here to say, Queens
residents, if you are eligible,
take the vaccine now. Don’t
wait until the supply totally
gives up. If you are eligible, we
urge you to get in line now,”
Richards said.
Additional reporting by
Gabriele Holtermann.
Reach reporter Jenna Bagcal
by e-mail at jbagcal@qns.
com or by phone at (718) 260-
2583.
Congresswoman Grace Meng speaks at a press conference outside the Korean Community Services
building, which became a pop-up vaccination site, on Feb. 11, 2021. Photos by Gabriele Holtermann
Pharmacists prepare the COVID-19 vaccinations for Bayside
residents at the KCS on Feb. 11, 2021.
Bayside residents who have received their COVID-19 vaccination
wait to see if they have any adverse reactions.
BAYSIDE TIMES (USPS#025088) is published weekly by Queens CNG LLC, 38-15 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY.11361, (718) 229-0300. The entire contents of this publication are copyright 2021. All rights reserved. The newspaper will
not be liable for errors appearing in any advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Periodicals postage paid at Flushing, N.Y. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Bayside Times C/O Queens CNG
LLC. 38-15 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, N.Y. 11361.
link
