One of the busiest transportation hubs in Queens is now operating as a COVID-19 vaccination distribution center for MTA personnel. The agency announced the launch of the new operation located in the Jamaica Control Center building which will vaccinate its workforce from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Friday.
“We are proud of our 7,000 Long Island Rail Road employees and look at them with such admiration for all they have done in the past year and continue to do. They are our heroes,” LIRR President Phil Eng said. “This new vaccination center opens up more availability with new appointments and makes it easier for our heroic workforce to access the location. The opening of the site at Jamaica Station marks the third vaccination site the MTA has opened in the last month, further ramping up efforts to get employees vaccinated, and we thank our partners at Mobile Health for their dedication.”
Every Friday 200 MTA employees will be able to receive the Pfizer vaccine and while LIRR employees are expected to be the primary users of the new center, it is open to all MTA employees.
“The impact that COVID-19 continues to have on our society is not insurmountable but controlling this problem cannot be achieved individually,” Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen General Chairman Kevin J. Sexton said. “I implore everyone to do their part and get vaccinated. We are all in this together.”
For more information, visit the MTA COVID-19 Employee Resource Center.
“With the loss of three TCU brothers at the Long Island Rail Road, and many more of our members and their families affected by this virus, it has been a devastating year to say the least,” Transportation Communications Union National Representative Jack Peluso said. “I welcome and applaud the LIRR for getting this done for all our members. As New York and Long Island continue to open up more and more, we look forward to continuing safe, reliable service to our customers. We need to get back to as close to normal as possible, and this is another step towards that goal.”
Mobile Health provides nurses, pharmacists, EMTs and other medical support at the vaccination hub as it does at Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall and another site at 130 Livingston St. in Brooklyn.
“We are continuing our great partnership with the MTA to bring the COVID-19 vaccine to our city’s essential transit workers as quickly as possible,” Mobile Health CEO Andrew Shulman said. “We are proud to open our third location serving MTA employees here at Jamaica Station. We will continue to vaccinate MTA employees at a faster rate, now including Jamaica Station.”
