Spike Lee paid a surprise visit to Yankee Stadium on opening day Friday morning – from the newest COVID-19 vaccination mega site in New York City.
The “Do the Right Thing” director – who was there for a movie shot, not a vaccination shot – looked modest in a gray Yankees bomber jacket, khaki and baseball cap as he talked to people lining up for their first shot to get.
The Bronx Bombers mecca first opened Friday as a mega vaccination site after weeks of delays due to vaccine shortages.
The municipality has set one of the highest positivity figures for the corona virus. Only Bronx residents can be vaccinated there.
Several hundred people lined up early to receive the first injection of the two-dose vaccine.
Officials said they had injected several hundred people at the stadium before mid-morning, where appointments are booked for at least the next five days.
There were thousands of open time slots for appointments on Thursday, City Councilor Mark Levine said, wondering if the Big Apple has conducted enough outreach to spark interest in the photos.
Two lines extended from Gate 4, one was for those with appointments and the other for those without.
“I’ve been trying to book an appointment for the past few months,” Ralph Davis, a 69-year-old semi-retired plumbing worker, told The Post at 8:15 am, saying he heard about the site on the “Michael Kay Show.”
“I just called, got the appointment right away,” he added.
Two restaurant workers, Jennifer Andon, 27, and her father, Ruben, 50, were also waiting online after signing up on the Somos Vaccinations website.
“My dad had an appointment at 8:10 am, it just needs to be better organized, especially at such temperatures,” said Andon.
‘It’s winter, it’s disorganized, but anyway we’re more than grateful to have the vaccine. I got the notification through the Citizen app. I literally left immediately, I saw the link, I made the appointment ”, she said.
“I’ve also helped my neighbors and my aunts make their appointments, as we’re all Bronx residents,” Andon added.
Godwin Vorgbedor, a 58-year-old health worker, waited online without an appointment.
“I heard it on the TV two days ago and tried to register on the computer several times. It keeps turning me down, and I’m like, ‘I can’t go on, just let me walk in and have a look,’ he said after waiting 45 minutes.
‘It doesn’t move. They just tell us to leave the room. I’m willing to pay the price, just to make sure I get it, ”added Vorgbedor.
Dr. Ramon Tallaj, founder of SOMOS Community Care, a network of nearly 2,500 health care providers in The Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn, said “almost every appointment” until next week is fulfilled.
‘You could see that, it is raining, look at the people. They are here. They don’t want to go anywhere, they want to get the vaccine, ‘Tallaj said.
A City Hall spokeswoman said Thursday that The Bronx is in full swing to spread the word and facilitate filings.
The city has previously come under fire for a complicated online application process for its own vaccination centers that confused seniors, admitting that it needs to do more to encourage minority communities to take their photos.