Some New Yorkers plan to travel hundreds of miles through the state to get a chance, as they have a limited amount of Covid-19 vaccine doses and what they say is an uninterrupted appointment system.
Maura Laverty, a 66-year-old nurse from New Rochelle, a suburb of New York, said she was preparing for a trip after making an appointment in a snow-covered university town near the Canadian border.
She said she spent hours searching for a place near her in Westchester County, but was unsuccessful. She then turned to a state-run web portal that would allow eligible New York State residents to book appointments at 13 state-run mass distribution centers.
The Jacob. K. Javits Convention Center, a state-run downtown in Manhattan, was her first choice, but the only available slots were at a location in Potsdam in St. Louis. Lawrence County.
“Search was an exercise in uselessness, so I’m going to make a nice little outing,” she said. Laverty said, who decided she would work a few days at a distance from a vacation rental while getting the jab.
Maura Laverty, a nurse from New Rochelle, travels about 350 kilometers to Potsdam for a shot.
Photo:
Maura Laverty
Other New York residents also said their vaccination appointments are a good excuse for a mini vacation. But most described the appointment process as disturbing, saying they were frustrated because the state did not allocate a larger number of doses to densely populated regions.
Local officials in the state also complained that the state diverts precious doses of vaccines to its own centers – where any New Yorker can sign up for an appointment – instead of taking them to local pharmacies, clinics or sites served by the region , to lok.
Peter Bartfeld, a 70-year-old lawyer, said he had booked an appointment at a center in Plattsburgh, which he said was a six-hour drive from his home in Valley Stream on Long Island. He chose the place after two weeks that he did not secure a closer place.
“It’s absurd,” he said. ‘You obviously have a wrong assignment in the state. Why do people have to drive from Long Island to Plattsburgh? ”
About seven million New Yorkers meet the state’s current criteria, which include people age 65 and older, health care workers, nursing home residents and staff, as well as essential workers, including teachers. Government officials said they receive about 250,000 vaccine doses a week.
About 600,000 people made appointments at the state vaccination buttons, Health Department spokesman Gary Holmes said about 75% of them were made by New Yorkers from the same region of the state. Government officials did not respond to requests for demographic information about who secured an appointment or were vaccinated.
President Biden has announced plans to increase the addition of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to states for the next three weeks, and by the end of the summer to buy enough additional doses to vaccinate the majority of the U.S. population. Photo: Doug Mills / Getty Images
Long Islanders can use state hubs at Jones Beach and SUNY Stony Brook, and New York City residents can use city sites or state centers in the Javits Center or the Aqueduct Racecourse in Queens, each of which can vaccinate at least 1,000 people a day. Almost the past week, the only sites with available appointments were in Plattsburgh and Potsdam, which are in rural areas. Officials say the two sites can handle 500 appointments a day.
Governor Andrew Cuomo and health officials say that vaccine doses are allocated based on the state’s population, and that certain providers have the task of focusing on certain groups: hospitals for health workers, provinces managed areas for essential workers, including teachers, and pharmacies for people 65 years or older.
Nancy Bendiner, 73, booked appointments for herself and her husband at a state-run hub in Utica after a county clinic near their home in Red Hook, NY, was filled in nine minutes. Their appointments are on consecutive days, so they will spend the night in Utica, she said.
Linda Puiatti, a 65-year-old Dutchess County painter, travels to Binghamton. ‘It’s a little sad that we’re doing this in a lottery way. The closest person to the phone gets the prize, ”she said.
Lindaess Puiatti, a painter from Dutchess County, plans to travel about 175 miles to Binghamton for her Covid-19 vaccine.
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Linda Puiatti
Melissa DeRosa, the governor’s top assistant, said government officials ensure equality between locals and residents outside the city. Mr. Holmes said the state could look at rebalancing the grant if there are persistent issues.
‘Our goal is to get gunshots as quickly and efficiently as possible – if New Yorkers in one area do not book all available appointments, and someone is willing to travel to get a chance, it only reflects the unfortunate insufficient supply of vaccines “what we receive from the Trump administration,” he said.
Biden administration officials said last week that they would increase the number of doses allotted to states, a move Cuomo welcomed.
Local leaders said the allocation of vaccines declined when the hubs opened. Anthony Picente, chief executive of Oneida County, a Republican whose province includes the state center just outside Utica, said the allocation for a land-based distribution point dropped by 3,000 doses during the week of 5 up to 500 doses for the week. of January 20th. That state yard opened on January 19th.
Mr. Holmes would not say how many doses of vaccines are directed to state centers, but said the allocations of the provinces have been reduced because the distribution network and the appropriate population that local health departments have focused on have changed.
Debra Blalock, 68, said she was concerned about road conditions but was still planning to drive from Dutchess County to Potsdam for a vaccine. She struggled with the ethics of getting an appointment in another part of the state, but said she feels comfortable doing so because people who live closer have the same ability to sign up.
While fearing for his journey to the north, Mr. Bartfeld said he heard on Thursday that he could get an appointment with the state center in Queens at the last minute. The process was efficient and everyone was pleasant, he said.
“Once you get the appointment, it’s gold,” he said.
Write to Jimmy Vielkind by [email protected]
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