Yankees legend Mariano Rivera emerged Friday when the Bronx Bombers’ home was turned into a COVID-19 mega-vaccination unit.
“I like it. It’s my home. Being here in the Bronx is huge,” Rivera told reporters in front of Yankee Stadium as hundreds of locals lined up to get the coveted first dose of the coveted two-dose coronavirus vaccine.
Rivera added: “You should not be afraid [to get the vaccine]. ”
“We do not understand him, we have problems. If we get it, we will save lives, “said Hall of Famer about the vaccine.
Later, Rivera – along with Yankees President Randy Levine and Yankees manager Aaron Boone – appeared live on the press briefing of Albany Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“It’s wonderful what you’re doing. I used to play here and save games and now it’s about saving lives, “Rivera said as he spoke from Yankee Stadium.
“It’s bigger than baseball. We are talking about hundreds and millions of people “, continued the great baseball player. “I see so many smiling faces, that’s what it’s about. Hope is the name of the game right now. ”
Levine said that in order to “stimulate” the locals to go out and get vaccinated at the stadium, “trinkets” from the Yankees will be distributed.
“It’s bigger than baseball. This is a bigger goal than baseball. We are so honored to be partners with you, ”Levine told Cuomo.
Cuomo cheered Rivera on his support for the vaccination effort.
“The words you just used to save games in that stadium and now save lives – more true words have never been spoken. This vaccine saves lives, “said the governor.
“This vaccine can save their lives, and your presence today will bring that message home to many people, because they trust you and respect you.”
The mass vaccination site at the stadium officially opened at 8 a.m. Friday – through a partnership with the city, state, Yankees, SOMOS Community Care and the New York National Guard – after weeks of delays due to a lack of vaccines.
Appointments to be captured on site are reserved for Bronx residents – the neighborhood with the highest coronavirus positivity rate in the city.
Officials say the site can handle 15,000 meetings in the first week.
Shortly after noon on Friday, Mayor Bill de Blasio also visited the site and spoke with outside reporters, along with Rivera, Levine and Boone.
“It simply came to our notice then. It’s about fairness. It’s about fairness, “said de Blasio. “The Bronx is one of the places that has borne the brunt of this coronavirus crisis.”
“Yankee Stadium means so much to New Yorkers,” he said. “Today, it’s a place of healing, a place of protection for the people of the Bronx.”
The mayor, a famous Boston Red Sox fan, even wore a Yankees hat for the occasion.
“Just for one day, I’m going to be a Yankees fan,” Hizzoner said.
Meanwhile, de Blasio said the planned mass vaccination center at Citi Field in Queens “will come in a few days.”
“We need [vaccine] supply, ”said de Blasio. “I want people to understand right now that New York City offers a third of the vaccinations we could, if we had the supply.”
“It’s deeply worrying for me that we could do 400,000, 500,000 vaccinations a week and we can’t get supplies,” he said. “I’m telling the federal government to get the rest of the pharmaceutical industry into this fight.”
A few hours earlier, Spike Lee made a surprise visit to the stadium in the morning and talked to the locals who were waiting in line to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.