Governor Cuomo Announces Partnership With SOMOS Community Care to Vaccinate Underserved New Yorkers for COVID-19 at Community Medical Practices

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a partnership with SOMOS Community Care to provide COVID-19 vaccines directly to accredited primary care physicians in SOMOS' health network who will vaccinate underserved New Yorkers. The program will initially cover 75 practices in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, and will scale up to 100 practices as supply allows. The program will launch in the coming weeks and New Yorkers will be able to make appointments directly through SOMOS.

The Governor also announced that the state and SOMOS will sponsor a pop-up vaccination site at the New Settlement Community Center in the Bronx, which hosted today's announcement. That site will operate this upcoming weekend to vaccinate New Yorkers in the surrounding community.

"The vaccine is the weapon that will win the war against COVID — and we are using every tool available to expand our vast distribution network and get more shots in arms, regardless of where New Yorkers live or what healthcare resources they have access to," Governor Cuomo said. "SOMOS has helped lead the way on distributing vaccines in the Empire State — from Yankee Stadium to small community pop-up sites — and this new partnership will allow New Yorkers in underserved communities to get the vaccine from trusted community healthcare providers. Together, we will break down barriers to access, while combating vaccine hesitancy — getting more than 100,000 shots a month into the most vulnerable New Yorkers' arms."

SOMOS Community Care Chairman Dr. Ramon Tallaj said, "As COVID-19 continues to spread across New York State, distributing the vaccine fairly and equitably is a critical part of bringing our society back to health. SOMOS is committed to serving individuals in lower income communities of color, and this partnership will utilize our trusted healthcare providers to vaccinate underserved New Yorkers. I thank Governor Cuomo for his tireless efforts to make sure the vaccine is distributed equitably in New York City and throughout the state, and look forward to partnering with his administration on this initiative."

SOMOS US Vice Chair Henry R. Muñoz said, "Recovering from COVID-19 means making sure the vaccine can get to all communities, not just those with access to traditional healthcare institutions. Under Governor Cuomo's leadership, New York State has prioritized an equitable distribution of the vaccine, and SOMOS is glad to partner with his administration to use trusted doctors to vaccinate lower income communities of color across New York City. The inequities this virus exposed existed long before the pandemic began, and I thank the Governor for working to rectify them through this initiative."

Information on the new pop-up vaccination site at the New Settlement Community Center is below:

New Settlement Community Center
1501 Jerome Ave
Bronx, NY 10452
Open: Saturday, March 27 and Sunday, March 28, 9AM - 5PM

New York State's partnership with SOMOS — a network of over 2,500 physicians concentrated in lower income communities of color — builds on the state's efforts to bring the vaccine to underserved communities and combat vaccine hesitancy. Since January 15, the state has deployed more than 160 community-based pop-up sites, which have administered more than 62,500 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

On March 25, Governor Cuomo announced 14 community-based pop-up vaccination sites are coming online over the next week at houses of worship, community centers and local businesses. These sites are expected to vaccinate more than 4,200 people throughout the week. On March 17, Governor Cuomo announced appointments were available at 10 new state-run mass vaccination sites across the state.

The Governor previously encouraged religious leaders of all faiths to partner with the state to establish pop-up vaccination sites at their facilities, and since March 8, over 200 new houses of worship have signed up to serve their communities. Houses of worship of all faiths are eligible to serve as points of distribution for the COVID vaccine. Interested medical providers and houses of worship can sign up here.