Coronavirus: NY Receives Fewer Vaccine Dosages As Demand Spikes

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Along with a "crush" of demand for coronavirus vaccines, plus what some have called a chaotic rollout of New York's vaccination program, with federal officials expanding eligibility unexpectedly and dramatically, and after revelations that the Trump administration doesn't have the vaccine stockpile it said it did, the state received less dosages this week than it has in the past.

In a week that started with the federal government opening eligibility to everyone age 65 and older — including 7.1 million New Yorkers — the state received only 250,000 vaccine dosages this week, down from its former weekly allotment of 3oo,000, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a coronavirus briefing on Friday.

"It was like opening the floodgates and forcing it through a syringe," he said.

At 300,000 dosages received per week, it will take six months to vaccinate all 7 million New Yorkers who are now eligible, he said. If the weekly allotment from the federal government stays at 250,000 it will take even longer.

Once the federal government opens eligibility even more, to people with underlying conditions, there will be about 12 million New Yorkers eligible, but the state is not getting enough doses to vaccinate the people who want one.

Those trying frantically to secure an appointment may have to wait up to 14 weeks for their turn. Most sites are fully booked, Cuomo said.

"The federal government has created a crisis by increasing eligibility but not supply," he said.

On Friday morning, The Washington Post reported that when U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced the federal government would release a reserve of vaccines, the reserve never existed, so states can expect less of an allocation, according to federal and state representatives who were briefed on vaccine distribution plans. The administration also announced it would give less doses to states whose rollouts have been slower and more doses to states whose rollouts have been fastest.

The state distributes the doses it receives every week to 10 regions proportionately based on population.

Overall, statewide, 74 percent of vaccine first doses have been delivered and "are in arms," Cuomo said.

Most of the doses New York has received have been administered and most of the rest are part of the federally administered program to vaccinate nursing home residents, state officials said.

Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa addressed the frustration of many who rushed to the state's website to try to book a vaccination appointment.

When the website first launched, she said, it was built to answer the needs of the 1 million people at the top of the priority list: primarily healthcare workers and first responders. When the numbers eligible went from a "manageable universe to 7.1 million," the "crush" caused servers to go down.

Even when the site was working, people trying to navigate it were extraordinarily frustrated by having to go to multiple places to try to find appointments.

The website used to list not only state mass vaccination sites, of which there will be 20 next week; it was also a "one-stop shop" for appointments at pharmacies and other places signed up to administer the vaccine.

Now the site has been re-designed. The "retail network" of places where the public will be able to getv vaccinations are still listed but appointment links have been removed from the state website to help keep traffic manageable. New Yorkers who are not in the 1a and 1b priority lists (medical personnel, first responders, essential workers, teachers) are asked to contact individual providers and pharmacies for appointments.

Meanwhile, vaccination rollout has been "uneven" by region, Cuomo said. The Hudson Valley is one of the lowest, with 76 percent of first dose allocations administered in the first three weeks.

The percentage of hospital workers who have received the vaccine is also "uneven," despite the dire need to get hospital staff vaccinated in order to keep hospital capacity open and avoid a shutdown, Cuomo said. The number of beds available is not an issue since the hospital bed capacity was expanded 50 percent statewide, but the number of hospital workers getting sick is a concern, he said, specially as hospitalizations continue to rise.

In the Hudson Valley, 57.9 percent of hospital workers have received the vaccine. "Not good enough," said Cuomo, explaining 70 percent to 90 percent is needed as a basic benchmark. One issue is those healthcare workers who are declining to take the vaccine, Cuomo said. Those declination rates vary by region, with 28.5 percent of hospital workers saying "no" in the Hudson Valley.

Some local medical centers vaccinating healthcare workers continue to lag.

Cuomo also reminded vaccine providers who are designated to a specific group to prioritize that group— hospitals for health care workers; county and county health departments for essential workers, who are also self-vaccinating; and pharmacies, for those 65 and over — so that everyone gets their fair allocation.

A focus will continue on communities of color where concerns of access and distrust need to be addressed through education and outreach, Cuomo said.

And, he said, New York needs more doses, which is the job of the federal government. They said they would increase the distribution by sending out all they had stockpiled for second doses, but it turns out they had already depleted the stockpile, Cuomo said. "I think it was all politics. 'We're going to open it up to everyone and by the way I leave next week.'"

Cuomo said he had tried unsuccessfully to buy vaccine directly from the manufacturers.

New Yorkers are urged to be patient.

MORE READING:

• NY Must Fix Vaccine Delivery System: Rockland State Lawmakers
• Op-Ed: Putnam Residents Need Patience During Vaccine Rollout

By Patch Editor Lisa Finn. Patch Editor Lanning Taliaferro contributed to this report.