Any New Yorker who receives a COVID-19 vaccination this week will receive a free two-day family pass to visit any state park, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced at a briefing on Monday, May 24 at Jones Beach in advance of Memorial Day Weekend.
Anyone vaccinated between Monday, May 24, and Monday, May 31 will be eligible to receive passes.
Cuomo made note that each state park will also feature pop-up vaccination sites over the holiday weekend as the state looks to “get more shots in arms” as the number delivered has dropped 55 percent.
Vaccination pop-up sites will be offering the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine at:
- Belmont Lake State Park;
- Buffalo Harbor State Park;
- Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park;
- FDR State Park;
- Grafton Lake State Park;
- Green Lakes State Park;
- Harriman State Park at Lake Welch;
- Heckscher State Park;
- Hempstead Lake State Park;
- Jones Beach State Park;
- Letchworth State Park;
- Robert Moses State Park;
- Roberto Clemente State Park;
- Sunken Meadow State Park;
- Taughannock Falls State Park;
- Westcott Beach State Park.
“We’re going to use those state parks, we’re going to use Memorial Day, so you can come, get a vaccine, and enjoy the park,” Cuomo said. “So it makes sense, and it’s easy. You don’t have to go out of your way, and it's the right thing to do.”
The latest vaccination program comes on the heels of New York introducing a lottery program with a potential $5 million grand prize for those getting the vaccine.
“We’ve seen a 55 percent decline in how many vaccines we’ve been distributing, and we have to make sure this complicated message is clear: we’re managing COVID, and the positivity rate is down, but let’s not misunderstand that to say it’s over,” Cuomo said.
“It is not over. We are managing it by what we are doing, and the tool that manages it is the vaccination,” he added. “That is the key … To keep the vaccination going. But no doubt, on the other hand, we are still in a different place in COVID.”
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