Yankee Stadium vaccination site opens Fri.

Yankee Stadium is ready for its turn as a mass COVID-19 vaccination site, with eligible residents of The Bronx scheduled to begin receiving shots on Friday.

15,000 appointments will be available during the Stadium's first week of vaccinations, according to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The New York National Guard will operate the site. Appointments can be scheduled at Somosvaccinations.com or by calling (833) SOMOSNY.

"The New York Yankees recognize the devastating effect COVID-19 has had on our borough, and it is our privilege to have Yankee Stadium as a host site for providing vaccines to Bronx residents," the Yankees said in a statement. "These vaccinations will make an immediate difference in improving the health of our local community -- which has been so overwhelmed by this pandemic -- and we extend our appreciation to all those involved with bringing this effort to fruition, including Governor Andrew Cuomo, the State of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio, the City of New York and SOMOS Community Care. We will do whatever is needed to make this a success."

Beginning on Feb. 5, the Yankee Stadium site will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. Vaccinations are by appointment only and are reserved for Bronx residents who meet New York's 1a and 1b vaccine eligibility requirements. Individuals who schedule appointments for Yankee Stadium are required to bring proof of residency.

The site, established through a partnership between New York State, New York City, the New York Yankees, SOMOS Community Care and the New York National Guard, was developed to not only directly address the Bronx's concerning positivity rate -- which is the highest among all New York City boroughs -- but to also further the State's and City's mandate for fairness and social equity in the vaccine distribution process.

"It's abundantly clear that Black, Latino and poor communities have been hit the hardest by COVID, and the Bronx is no exception," Cuomo said. "Our efforts to target vaccinations by locations with higher positivity rates have been working to not only keep the infection rate down, but to help ensure equity in our vaccine distribution process, and opening a mass vaccination site at Yankee Stadium -- the Bronx's most iconic landmark -- is the perfect solution to helping this borough get vaccinated and defeat COVID once and for all."

Mayor de Blasio said that the Yankee Stadium vaccination site is "about justice and standing up for the neighborhoods that were hardest hit by COVID-19."

Yankee Stadium joins Citi Field in Queens and other MLB ballparks across the country as hosts for mass vaccinations amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"Yankee Stadium has always been known for its World Series banners, but now it'll be recognized as a place where the people of the surrounding community in the Bronx can receive the vaccine doses that they need and deserve," de Blasio said.

Additionally, George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. is being utilized as a COVID-19 testing site for the National Football League. The Super Bowl will be held Feb. 7 at Raymond James Stadium.