Assemblyman William Colton (D – Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, and Dyker Heights) said that constituents have complained to him that NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island does not provide the updated COVID-19 booster.

“I understand that Coney Island Hospital is one of the city hospitals but for some unknown reason, it's not on the list to distribute updated COVID-19 boosters.The updated COVID-19 boosters are formulated to better protect against the most recently circulating COVID-19 variant. It was designed to provide broader protection against newer variants and CDC is strongly encouraging citizens to take it to help restore protection,” Colton stated. 

“Coney Island Hospital is mostly populated by a Russian constituency, many other groups, as well as many minority constituencies and I believe that it is inconvenient and unfair for them to travel somewhere else to get the new COVID-19 booster when they have a city hospital right near their residence,” Colton continued.

“Therefore, I wrote a letter requesting that NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Ashwin Vasan M.D., Ph.D. and NYS Department of Health Commissioner Mary T. Bassett M.D., M.P.H., include NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island on the list of locations to provide updated COVID-19 boosters to the vulnerable New Yorkers who can't travel to a different location when they have a city hospital nearby,” Colton added.