The first of millions of New Yorkers with chronic health conditions received the Covid-19 vaccine at locations in the city on Monday, a day after people flooded a state website and call center when they were eligible for the shot.
Four million people with conditions such as high blood pressure and obesity can now receive the vaccine in the state, despite a shortage of supplies. Those who were able to make vaccinations, such as Linda Zucker, 55, an attorney from New Rochelle, NY, were relieved. Me. Zucker, who said he survived breast cancer, tried to make an appointment at midnight on Saturday night. After a while, she gave up, but passed early Sunday morning.
“The end is in sight,” she said. Zucker said early Monday after receiving the first dose of vaccination at the Jacob K. Javits Conference Center in Midtown. “The masks are not going anywhere, but at least I will not be in such danger again.”
But for many others, the process was frustrating, if not insurmountable. Many people spent large portions of Sunday navigating through the city and state’s three different registration systems, some without an appointment to show up for, and others turning to third-party apps.
“I can’t wait to tell our future children about how their parents spent Valentine’s Day 2021 discussing vaccinations for us and our loved ones,” one said. dissatisfied user wrote on Twitter.
Government officials said they viewed the expansion as a success. They said 250,924 people had successfully vaccinated on Sunday, more than any single day since the registration system was introduced in mid-January.
The process has been facilitated by technological updates, such as virtual waiting rooms on the site and a callback system on the phone line to book appointments, officials said.
In some cases, the updates caused confusion. Many users missed a screen that told them to try to make appointments later as proof that the system was crashing; it was actually designed to prevent people from waiting for appointments indefinitely, said Richard Azzopardi, a senior adviser to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.
“It did not crash, it did not kick people out unnecessarily, and yes, they had to try several times, but they were warned so that they do not have to waste time waiting online,” he said. Azzopardi said in an interview, adding that “the best message is that perseverance pays off.”
Some users still struggled to make appointments. City Councilman Mark Levine, who chairs the council’s health committee, said there were ‘real problems with functionality’ as people wanted to plan them.
“You really have to have hours of time and technological skills, not to mention access to a computer and internet connection, to make an appointment,” he said. Levine said in an interview, adding that the requirements have contributed to racial and socio-economic inequalities. in vaccine distribution.
Mr. Levine said the obstacles were even more frustrating because the state and city had months to develop a registration system.
“It’s just crazy that we’re still trying to find out here in February,” he said. Levine said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Levine offered a tip: he recommends that date users use the Google Chrome browser in incognito mode on a computer to avoid technical problems.
The disease control and prevention centers have priority guidelines for the vaccine, but the distribution of the shots has largely been left to individual states, leading to a pastiche of different rules and in some cases leading to “vaccine hunters” exceeding state lines for the shot. About 20 countries currently allow high-risk adults to be vaccinated.
Other conditions that people now qualify for the vaccine in New York include cancer, developmental disabilities, liver disease, and pregnancy. Some vaccine seekers have expressed frustration that the conditions, set out by the CDC, seemed somewhat arbitrary.
Similar objections arose when smokers were allowed to receive the vaccine in New Jersey. (New York now allows people with lung disease to receive the vaccine, but officials said smoking alone does not qualify).
New Yorkers seeking the vaccine must provide proof of their condition, such as medical documentation, a doctor’s letter or a signed certification, Cuomo said in a statement last week.
“It’s no secret that every time you’re so scarce dealing with a resource, there will be attempts to commit fraud and play the systems,” he said. Cuomo said, which threatened fines and other fines for institutions or individuals who cut. the line to get the vaccine.
Officials said that given a sufficient amount of vaccine, New York could vaccinate 100,000 people a day with the help of newly opened mass vaccination sites at Citi Field in Queens and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and sites planned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. has. Brooklyn and Queens. As of Sunday, the state’s data indicated that nearly two million New Yorkers had received the first doses of the vaccine.
New Yorkers who could make appointments were delighted.
Jaikaran Sawhny, 38, said he feels he checks government regulations several times a day to see when he is eligible for the vaccine.
Mr. Sawhny, a technology worker from East Harlem who has the blood disorder thalassemia, said he was able to make an appointment at the Brooklyn Army Terminal after four hours to constantly refresh his browser.
The discussion was ‘painful’, said Mr. Sawhny said, but it was virtually effortless to get the vaccine.
“I did not expect it to be so quick and easy, but it was completely effective,” he said.
Kevin Armstrong and Alexandra E. Petri reported.