NYC to set up vaccination site exclusively for theater workers

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) on Thursday announced plans to create a vaccination site on Broadway, in addition to a mobile site off-Broadway, specifically for the theater community.

“It’s time to raise the curtain and bring Broadway back,” de Blasio said at a news conference.

De Blasio also said that pop-up testing sites will be established by theaters in the city.

The vaccination sites, which will be set up within the next four weeks, will be staffed by workers in the theater industry.

“We want to get the Broadway community involved, and the Off-Broadway community, in vaccinating their own folks, by definition a very high percentage of whom are eligible right now,” de Blasio said.

The new vaccination sites, however, will not change the current eligibility policy New York City has for inoculations. Right now, city residents older than 50, workers in certain industries and individuals with specific health conditions are eligible for a shot.

De Blasio, however, predicts that by the time the locations are open, more of the city’s population will be eligible.

“We also know that in just a matter of four or five weeks, at latest, everyone will be eligible. I won’t be surprised if that even is sooner,” he added.

The mayor called on New York State to “quickly” issue “clear” guidance for theater workers, including masks policies and how proof of vaccination or negative testing will be enforced, to ensure that workers and patrons can return to theaters safely in the fall.

Earlier this month New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that beginning April 2, event, arts and entertainment venues can reopen at 33 percent capacity, or up to 100 people indoors and 200 people outdoors.

Broadway producers, however, are saying that it is not economically feasible to put on commercial productions at reduced capacity, The New York Times reported.