The state of New York on Thursday canceled 20,000 COVID-19 vaccine appointments after a schedule link was leaked to the general public prematurely.
According to government officials, the state-owned premises at Stony Brook University Hospital on Long Island were involved in the discussions. According to Melisa DeRosa, a top assistant to Governor Andrew Cuomo, the website would only be available on Friday.
“The hypothesis is whether it was hacked, or that someone leaked the link,” DeRosa told reporters during a briefing Friday morning.
A lawyer for the state’s Office of Information Technology Services said clinics in Binghamton, Buffalo, Plattsburgh, Potsdam and Utica were also affected, leading to cancellations. A health department spokesman said the state had suspended appointments for 2,400 people at those sites. The incident was referred to the Inspector General of New York for investigation.
“Two appointments at Stony Brook for my older parents have been canceled,” tweeted one person Thursday night. ‘It seems like we’re really continuing to pay attention to our defenseless seniors. All the way. ”
Two appointments at Stony Brook for my older parents have been canceled. It seems like we’re really continuing to pay attention to our defenseless seniors. Way to go. Make the seniors a PRIORITY and MAKE. IT. RIGHT.
– Tara P (@TaraPrimis) 15 January 2021
Asked about the issue during the briefing, Governor Andrew Cuomo responded by saying, “This is not the first time this has happened, is it? There were similar cases,” a reference to the crowd in the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park collapsed, in which case a message was spread on social media that the city was administering extra vaccines on a first-come-first-served basis, a spokesman for Stony Brook University Hospital said. our questions refer to the New York Department of Health.
It’s such a mess. Some of my family and colleagues’ applications when thousands opened for Stony Brook yesterday, and today they received emails that it is not a valid vaccination site and that their applications are all canceled.
– Kristen Picone (@ Kpteach5) 15 January 2021
‘[The state] has sole responsibility and authority to determine if the vaccine is eligible … and when appointments will be available at the location at the State Yard, ”Stony Brook spokesman said.
New Yorkers also criticized the state’s vaccination website for being confusing and glamorous.
According to DeRosa, the increased qualification in recent days has caused a huge increase in web traffic, which has caused the servers to go down.
“We understand the frustration when someone gets the link because they do not know there are cunning intentions behind the way it came out,” she said. “However, there are seven million people competing for 250,000 shots, and the system must be fair.”
This story has been updated with additional data from the state of New York.