New Rochelle City and School District Employees Will Get Second COVID-19 Vax

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Employees of the City of New Rochelle and the City School District of New Rochelle who received a first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine at Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital last Wednesday and Thursday will receive the second, Westchester County officials have confirmed.

The second dose of the Moderna vaccine is given 4 weeks after the first dose. City and School District employees who got a first dose last week were given return appointments for their second dose in early February.

As Montefiore is currently not a COVID-19 vaccination provider, the location where City of New Rochelle and the City School District of New Rochelle will receive their second dose is TBD. It is possible Montefiore New Rochelle will be reinstated as a provider or the WCDOH will arrange an alternate site.

Talk of the Sound will report on the location when that information becomes available.

The New York State Department of Health ordered Montefiore New Rochelle to cease and desist from vaccinating non-Tier 1A City and School District employees after they were alerted to the illegal vaccination program by the Medical Director of the City School District of New Rochelle who had been kept out of the loop by City and School District officials.

Dr. Brooke Balchan learned of the vaccination program via an “all-employee” blast email sent by Interim Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero at 12:04 p.m. Balchan immediately contacted the New York State Department of Health and Westchester County Health Department. The vaccination program was ordered shut down by NYSDOH at 5:00 p.m. although Montefiore continued to administer doses of the vaccine until 6:30 p.m.

Montefiore was ordered by NYSDOH to turn over all remaining doses to WCDOH on Friday. Montefiore turned over 330 doses. WCDOH said they would add those doses to their allotment of 500 doses to inoculate Tier 1A people.

UPDATE 1/13/21 11:33 AM

Governor Cuomo says those who received first dose will go back to the same location for second does which if that applies to New Rochelle City and School workers means Montefiore will be back as a vaccine provider by February.

Visit https://t.co/yVyJY042Pd to check your eligibility for the vaccine & find locations where you can schedule your first shot.

2nd dose appointments will be booked AT the site where you receive your first shot.

Remember: Both vaccines require two doses for effectiveness.
— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) January 13, 2021