The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced the rollout of CoViD-19 vaccinations for its heroic workforce began at the state-operated Jacob K. Javits Center today. More than 126 employees received vaccinations on the first day, with plans to vaccinate thousands more in the coming weeks.
“This vaccine is our best shot at ending this pandemic once and for all,” said Patrick Warren, MTA Chief Safety & Security Officer. “Health experts assure that the vaccine is safe and effective. I am grateful that our workforce, who showed up for work day in and day out at the height of the pandemic, is being prioritized in the vaccine rollout and this time showing up to get their shot. We applaud Governor Cuomo and the New York State Department of Health for their leadership, and look forward to working together to vaccinate the frontline heroes of this pandemic.”
MTA employees are included in priority group 1b of the vaccine’s eligibility. The Javits Center is one of three state-run vaccination sites that began opening across the state today in an effort to expedite the vaccination rate, including the Westchester County Center and New York State Fair Expo Center. The Authority plans to roll out an MTA vaccination program in the coming weeks to vaccinate as many members of its workforce as quickly as possible.
The vaccination program being planned is yet another example of the MTA’s commitment to undertaking important and pioneering initiatives to protect its workforce.
From the onset of the pandemic the Authority has been at the forefront of protective efforts for employees, with nation and industry-leading efforts including free and convenient screenings at work sites throughout the service region, free access to CoViD-19 testing at partnering health care facilities, the deployment of a first-in-the-nation temperature brigade, the installation of plexiglass and vinyl barriers on buses and in select work locations, testing of cutting-edge technologies to clean and disinfect, as well as providing free and convenient flu shots to thousands of workers to date.
The MTA has distributed more than 13 million masks, more than 16 million pairs of gloves, 98,000 gallons of hand sanitizer, close to 11 million individual sanitizing wipes, 235,000 gallons of cleaning solution and more than 16,000 face shields to its workforce since the beginning of the pandemic.
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