BROOKLYN – New Yorkers rushed to the Brooklyn Army Terminal on Thursday night after a false rumor spread on social media and WhatsApp about excess doses of coronavirus vaccines.
Doses were only available to people with an appointment, Mayor Bill Neidhardt said. The city sent people to the Brooklyn Army Terminal to ask people to leave without an appointment.
“There is NO vaccine available to people without an appointment,” he tweeted. “This was misinformation and the report was not from the NYC government. We are sending people to the Brooklyn Army Terminal to ask people in line to return home if they don’t have appointments.”
Video showed a long queue and a lot of waiting in cars.
After news started spreading about 400+ surplus vaccination shots in Brooklyn – passed on through WhatsApp messages and screenshots – * part * of the scene now looks pic.twitter.com/cndF7r5zzc
– Stephen Lurie (@luriethereal) January 14, 2021
Social media reported that more than 410 doses had to be distributed in the next few hours. Councilor Justin Brannan expressed frustration at the post.
“You may have seen this fake image. As a result, there is now a line of people outside the Brooklyn Army Terminal who are not getting vaccinated,” he tweeted. “I know we are all desperate for vaccinations, but sharing this sort of thing does more harm than good and creates confusion.”