The Attorney General of the Office of Information Technology Services said the unauthorized scheduling link was published this week.
The governor’s office said it was a legitimate, internal link that was wrongly shared with the public and posted on social media, so that people with the link ‘had an unfair advantage that others did not have’.
The link affected not only residents of Long Island but also New York State.
The following statement was made regarding the incidental publication:
“It has come to our attention that an unpublished scheduling link was shared on social media without permission this week, which has enabled some New Yorkers to make vaccinations for state industries that are not currently open and not appointments in Binghamton, Buffalo. Take Plattsburgh, Potsdam, Stony Brook and Utica. Out of an abundance of caution, we have referred this issue to the Inspector General. As is clear from this pandemic, equality and equal access are critical in the distribution of the vaccine, and to ensure that these principles are followed unauthorized.dates have been void – we are currently contacting anyone who has used the unauthorized link to notify them of the situation.We will continue to protect all information of New Yorkers and to ensure access to the vaccine for all eligible.As a reminder, the only way to register for vaccinations on state-owned enterprises through the website of the Department of Health, I am eligible. ‘
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Those who have made appointments with this link are notified that their appointments are not valid, and according to officials, no one who signed up for these vaccines received one. The appointments were for premises that had not yet been set up, an official said.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said the site had to be launched on Friday, and to give everyone a good chance, the appointments were erased and available at the time it was supposed to be available.
“This is not the first time this has happened,” Cuomo said. “There was a similar case in New York City. Someone issued a notice that there was going to be a vaccination site and that people were flocking to the yard.”
Melissa DeRosa, top assistant to the governor, said there was speculation that the website had been hacked or that someone had leaked the link.
“Unfortunately, this is going to be a bigger problem if you have 7 million people and have such a limited supply, it causes anxiety, fraud and black market,” Cuomo said. “You’ll see people on the internet saying they’ll sell the vaccine. You’ll see a few bottles sold. I’ll risk it because it’s valuable. You’ll see burglary, fraud, theft. It’s almost predictable, so ugly and sorry as it is. ‘
He added that the Attorney General is monitoring such situations.
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Cuomo added that most appointments in the state are booked up to 14 weeks in advance, and that most distributors are fully booked.
The state is hoping for more federal allocation.
“The federal government has created a crisis by increasing suitability, but not increasing supply,” Cuomo said.
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