Close to 15,000 MTA Workers Have Received the COVID-19 Vaccine to Date; Thousands More Expected at New Site Open Today
Metro-North Employees Expected to be Primary Users of New Site
View Video of Announcement and First Vaccinations at Site
View Photos From Event
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced the launch of a new COVID-19 employee vaccination site in Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal. This site is open to MTA employees with appointments only. Effective immediately, as many as 200 MTA employees per day will be able to get the Pfizer vaccine at this location.
The opening of a Grand Central vaccination site for MTA employees builds on the Authority's broader efforts to help get thousands of its employees vaccinated as soon as possible. The MTA opened a similar site for employees at 130 Livingston Street in Brooklyn on Feb. 23. The Vanderbilt Hall location will serve all MTA employees, but is primarily devoted to helping the roughly 6,400 employees of Metro-North Railroad, which is headquartered at Grand Central Terminal.
"Metro-North workers have heroically moved thousands of customers from Connecticut and New York throughout the pandemic and they have continued to maintain our tracks, facilities and equipment to keep our service safe and reliable," said Metro-North President Cathy Rinaldi. "I am thrilled that these workers will now have the opportunity to be vaccinated at such a convenient location and to join the nearly 15,000 other MTA employees who have received the vaccination thus far.”
“As essential workers, our members are eager to have the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on our property at Grand Central Terminal,” said Chris Silvera, Secretary-Treasurer of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 808. “They have been out there every day supporting the railroad and have vigorously confronted the challenges that the pandemic has placed on them over the last year. The vaccination center at Vanderbilt Hall will allow our members to have both access to and availability of the vaccine, which is vital to ensure the safety of the workforce at Metro-North. IBT, Local 808 supports this initiative and will partner with the MTA and Metro-North to ensure its success.”
“This additional vaccination site at Grand Central Terminal represents Mobile Health’s commitment to helping our city’s transit workers receive the vaccine as quickly as possible” said Mobile Health CEO Andrew Shulman. “We are very proud of our partnership with the MTA and the great efforts by both teams to keep employees and MTA riders safe.”
Currently, 100 transportation workers per day continue to receive the COVID-19 vaccination at the state-run site at Jacob K. Javits Center, in addition to 200 per day at the MTA’s Livingston Street site and now 200 more per day at Grand Central. To mark the launch of the new site, senior MTA officials and the CEO of Mobile Health joined Metro-North employees and labor representatives for a kickoff event in Vanderbilt Hall earlier today. Mobile Health is administering the vaccination program.
The vaccination site at Grand Central Terminal will be open Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Employees will be vaccinated by appointment only.