The state’s first massive vaccination COVID-19 vaccination site opened Thursday morning in Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh while motorists lined up anxiously waiting to be vaccinated by the coronavirus.
Government officials expect to vaccinate 700 people during the first day of the site – a small figure for a very large venue – but could increase the capacity and staff to administer 5,000-10,000 doses per day once the federal government grants it of vaccinations increased.
“This is the largest government operation of our lifetime,” Michael Kopy, the state’s director of emergency management, told a news conference in Jones Beach.
The other important vaccines from the state all require appointments, but visitors to Jones Beach stay in their cars all the time – from the check-in process to the point when health officials inject the needle into the recipient’s arm.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said about 300,000 doses are sent to New York each week, but more than 7 million residents are now eligible for the vaccine. At the current rate, it will take six months to get through only the New Yorkers who are now eligible.
“The federal government needs to do better,” said Park Commissioner Erik Kulleseid. “We need Washington DC to give doses so we can have a chance to protect New Yorkers.”
The Jones Beach Vaccination Center, on Field 3, is by appointment only and is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. for all who are eligible to receive the vaccine.
The facility is staffed by medical officers of volunteers and contractors and distributes only the Pfizer vaccine. The vaccination process, according to officials, takes about 30 minutes from start to finish and appointments are made on site for a second dose.
The state opened three other mass vaccination sites on Wednesday, including one in the Javits Center in Manhattan with more vaccination centers to be announced in the coming days, including at Stony Brook University next week.
Lisa Burke, a Massapequa teacher, said she was “lucky” and was able to make one of the first available Jones Beach appointments.
“It’s very relieving,” Burke said as she drove out of the South Shore site on Thursday. “It’s nice to know I can go to work and be safe. My students can be safe because at this point I have less chance of getting COVID.”
And while dozens of vehicles waited in line Thursday morning as the row of cars bled on Ocean Parkway, tens of thousands of Long Islanders were not so happy.
Many complained about an irregular online appointment system that would crash regularly or a state line – 833-697-4829 – where they would be repeatedly disconnected whenever they wanted to schedule an appointment.
And with a shortage of vaccines and an overwhelming demand, the next possible appointments will only come at the end of April, the state said in a warning on its website on Thursday.
“This rollout, if it were a consumer product, would be a huge failure and the respective people probably have a very poor performance rating at the end of the year,” says Rich Kamzan (66) of Lido Beach, who is struggling with the state system. but was finally able to make a vaccination appointment Tuesday at an urgent care center in the Bronx.
Meanwhile, state, county and town officials held a news conference in Hauppauge on Thursday, saying the vaccine explosion was a “failure” with their offices flooded with calls from confused and “upset” residents seeking information.
“Millions of New Yorkers do not know when or where to receive their life-saving shots, and they feel completely abandoned by their state government,” said Gov. Phil Boyle (R-Bay Shore).
State officials said they are addressing the IT issues and that more places on Jones Beach and elsewhere will open as soon as they receive extra doses from Washington DC.
“The process is moving according to plan,” Kopy said. “We realize that there are some small mistakes and that they are being addressed.”
Long Islanders who were lucky enough to make an appointment on Thursday expressed their relief and prayed that a return to normal was around the corner.
“It’s important to get the vaccine because I’m scared of getting the virus,” said Saul Horowitz, 86, of Melville. “The death statistics are staggering.”
Sharon Smith was able to make an appointment for her mother, Charlotte McKenna (88), of West Islip. But Smith, of Islip, could not secure a place for herself.
“Mom is at high risk and we need to get her vaccinated as soon as possible,” Smith said.
McKenna said she is “grateful” to get the chance.
“I just pray,” she said, “that things will become normal after this.”
With Chelsea Irizarry
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Robert Brodsky is a crucial reporter working for Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and alumni of the American University.