Stony Brook Southampton Campus Vaccine Site Closing July 26

New York’s mass COVID-19 vaccination site at Stony Brook University’s Southampton campus will close on July 26, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday.

The state-run site is one of four that will be closing after this week as the governor focuses vaccination efforts on areas with low vaccination rates. The others are located upstate.

“The COVID vaccine is the greatest tool we have in our fight against the virus. It is free, effective, and easily accessible throughout the State of New York,” Cuomo said. “With this accessibility comes the state’s responsibility to target and shift resources to areas with the lowest vaccination rates. Downscaling state sites is necessary to redirect these resources, but it does not mean that you should not get your vaccine if you haven’t already.”

Downscaling of the state’s mass vaccination sites began about two weeks ago. On Long Island, the state closed the Jones Beach vaccination site this week and the Suffolk County Community College Brentwood site the previous week.

Going forward, the governor’s office says that state officials are evaluating all mass vaccine sites to determine which can be cut based on local resources. The state partners with community leaders with the goal of getting as many people vaccinated as possible. The remaining state vaccination sites are still open for walk-in appointments.

This story first appeared on longislandpress.com.