A COVID-19 mass vaccination site is opened in Middletown after lawmakers and local officials called on the state to get more people vaccinated in Orange County.

Those eligible and looking to get the COVID-19 vaccine can make their way to SUNY Orange County Community College as part of the state's plan to expand its vaccination efforts.

Lawmakers say vaccination rates have trailed significantly in Orange County. Prior to the site's opening on Friday, the nearest vaccination site for Orange County residents was in Westchester.

Officials say the long distance was a large part of the reason the county had the second lowest vaccination percentage in the entire state, while also having the highest positive test rate for COVID-19 cases in all of New York.

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, along with County Executive Steve Neuhaus, called on the state government to help combat the disparity. He says the Middletown site is a great first step in the right direction, but that more still needs to be done.