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An 83-year-old woman from Long Island with cancer says she is in the wake of the difficult introduction this week of the state encountered a « wall » trying to get the coronavirus vaccine.
« Those in charge have money, but someone dropped the ball top-down, » said Anne Foley of West Babylon on Thursday. “I’m really frustrated. I am almost in tears at times. It shouldn’t have been like that. «
Foley, a breast cancer survivor recently diagnosed with lymphoma, said she had been trying all week to get an appointment for the life-saving shot but was thwarted by a difficult-to-navigate system and lack of information .
She said she called the state health department, city officials, pharmacies, their doctors, and even their local union – but only received the message that their request could not be processed due to a large number of calls.
« It’s like hitting a wall. There’s nowhere to go, ”said Foley, a retired government official. « Stop and just take me to the morgue – because I have no chance of surviving in Hell. »
Some local Poles in Suffolk County pointed their fingers straight at Governor Andrew Cuomo’s troubled vaccination schedule – Including inaccessible vaccination sites, flawed online systems and a lack of communication of eligibility criteria.
Dozens of New Yorkers 65 and over who can now be vaccinated in New York are frustrated and confused about how to get the shots.
« We are in total chaos, » said Senator Phil Boyle (R-Huntington) at a press conference Thursday. « This is not an isolated incident. »
« Millions of New Yorkers have no idea when or where to get their life-saving recordings and feel completely abandoned by their state government. »
The state started the Distribution of vaccines, however, has come under fire because of a slow rollout – as is the case in much of the country – and excessively tight restrictions that banned most seniors from being shot until Cuomo gave in to pressure this week.
Unlike New York City, which has its own system for scheduling vaccine appointments, Suffolk County’s sparse website merely directs users to the state portal and hotline. On the status registration page, some locations are listed that are not yet open or have no free dates.
State Senator Alexis Weik (R-Patchogue) said there had been a spate of calls from confused residents into her office.
« My office has been inundated with calls from constituents caused by the botched rollout of COVID-19 -Vaccines were upset. The confusion and shift in eligibility, inaccurate websites with broken links, nonexistent vaccine distribution websites, and unanswered phone calls are the result of a rollout program that the state took months to prepare for, « she said. « Enough! »
A Suffolk County official told the Post that the vaccine doses for the week had run out, making appointments difficult.
« Suffolk County has actionable plans and infrastructure to deliver at least 6,500 vaccines to sites in the western, middle and eastern ends of the county. We only need vaccines to embrace, « a county official said.
Since the December rollout and Monday, 47,711 people were vaccinated in Suffolk County’s hospitals, nursing homes and other locations, data shows.
A spokeswoman for the county health department noted that the state only has access to 300,000 vaccines a week, compared to 7 million people are now entitled to receive it – an argument made by state officials.
However, data shows that many of the cans sent to the Empire State so far have not yet made it into people’s arms.
The state only opened its first mass vaccination sites this week – at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, the Expo Center at Syracuse Fairgrounds, and the Westchester Center in White Plains.
However, Foley noted that many vaccination centers are difficult to access for seniors because they are no longer driving.
« How are we going to get there? Why don’t they open the senior centers to give the vaccine? » She said.
A spokesman for Cuomo On Thursday, the Trump administration blamed a lack of guidance and doses.
« Every state initially struggled due to a lack of support and planning from an incompetent federal administration, » spokesman Jack Sterne said in a statement.
« We’ve vaccinated over 730,000 New Yorkers, including many health care heroes on the front lines of this pandemic, thanks to forward planning, and we’re rolling out 20 mass vaccination sites nationwide, but the limiting factor is the lack of federal government supplies. » He added, « Instead of running to the nearest television camera to beat up the state, these politicians should hold full court press with us on their Republican counterparts in Congress and the White House to increase the offer while they still have it are in power. «
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