Coney Island’s beloved New York Aquarium is now offering the COVID-19 vaccine — and those who get inoculated at the southern Brooklyn institution will score a free ticket for a future visit.
The new site is part of the city’s efforts to entice more of its residents to get vaccinated by offering rewards such as tickets to the aquarium, or in other cases, the Bronx Zoo or a New York Yankees game.
Appointments to get the jab at one of Coney Island’s greatest attractions are available but are not necessary, and the vax site can be accessed by foot or by driving into the parking lot on Surf Avenue, where those being inoculated can park their vehicles free of charge.
Both the Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer vaccines are being administered at the aquarium.
The vaccination site opened to the public on June 2 and will remain in operation through June 30 on weekdays, excluding holidays, from 10 am to 5 pm.
Any New York City resident over the age of 12 is eligible to be vaccinated at the New York Aquarium though children under the age of 17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, according to the site’s guidelines.
While nearly half of Brooklyn’s population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, less than 38 percent of residents living in Brighton Beach, Coney Island and Sea Gate’s 11224 zip code can say the same, according to city data. Of the zip code’s estimated population of 46,270, just over over 14,600 residents in the area were fully vaccinated as of June 2.
