Airport workers eligible
Vaccine centers open, 65 and
More than 1,200 pharmacies
have already committed
to participating in this network.
Pharmacies will be provided
vaccines for New Yorkers
aged 65 and older, while
hospitals will continue vaccinating
1a healthcare workers,
and local health departments
and union-organized efforts
will serve essential workers
in 1b.
Governor Andrew M.
Cuomo announced the first
three state-run vaccination
sites are now open and vaccinating
eligible New Yorkers
against the COVID-19 virus.
The sites–the Jacob K. Javits
Center, Westchester County
Center and New York State
Fair Expo Center–all opened
on January 13 at 8 a.m. Vaccinations
are by appointment
only. In addition, the Department
of Health is setting up
20 mass distribution sites
throughout the state over the
next several weeks,
To determine eligibility
and schedule an appointment
to receive their first dose, New
Yorkers can utilize the state's
'Am I Eligible' app or call the
New York State Vaccination
Hotline at 1-833-NYS-4VAX (1-
833-697-4829). Appointments
to receive the second dose at
these sites are scheduled inperson
after receiving the
first dose. New Yorkers should
not attempt to book their second
appointment online.
Cuomo said, “New York
State is rapidly expanding our
networks and capabilities to
get as many New Yorkers vaccinated
as fast as our supply
allows. The new vaccine sites
across the State will expedite
our distribution to get our
most vulnerable New Yorkers
vaccinated efficiently. Our
greatest hindrance continues
to be federal inaction. We
have come too far to be held
back in our efforts by the inadequate
vaccine supply from
the federal government. I encourage
New Yorkers to be patient
throughout this process
and urge our federal government
to increase the supply to
states."
AIRPORT V 12 OICE, JANUARY 2021
To add to the capacity,
Mayor Bill DeBlasio announced
Citi Field will become
an inside 24/7 mega COVID
19 vaccination site during
the week of January 25th.
Need coordination
of availability and
inoculation
To add to the momentum,
President-elect Biden has
pledged to give 100 million
vaccines in 100 days. Governor
Cuomo and Mayor DeBlasio
are hell-bent on vaccinating
as many people as they can
who want the vaccine. Unfortunately
at this time, Cuomo
estimates 14 weeks before only
some of the 1b group has the
chance to get inoculated. The
current supply of the vaccine
is allocated nationally, and
the ability to actually have
the personnel available to inoculate
those eligible makes it
harder to move any faster. The
only relief will come when the
federal government makes
more first dosage vaccines
available using the 2nd dosage
currently in the warehouse
to vaccine centers. Presidentelect
Biden also wants to open
the gates of supply to get as
many first shots out to centers
as quickly as possible.
Under this expanded vaccination
network, new providers
will prioritize their health
care workers and hospitals
will continue to prioritize unvaccinated
members of 1A:
health care workers. Additionally,
large union groups,
including but not limited to
police, firefighters and educators,
have been asked to organize
plans for vaccinating
their members to the extent
possible. If viable plans are
established, these groups will
receive weekly allocations
from their local health departments.
Vaccination Sites at Jacob
K. Javits Center, Westchester
County Center, and New
York State Fair Expo Center
Opened January 13, With
Jones Beach Opened on January
14 and SUNY Albany on
January 15. Citifield will open
the week of January 25th.
All this is predicated on
Pfizer and Moderna being
able to manufacture more vaccines,
and for other manufacturers
to get emergency use of
their clinically trialed and approved
vaccines from companies
like Johnson & Johnson
and AstraZeneca.
To get the actual shots in
the arm, NY State has authorized
the hiring of new
vaccine givers to help inject
thousands of vaccines a day
in order to stop the spread of
Covid-19. To support the increased
staffing needs resulting
from the establishment
of this vaccination network,
the Governor has signed an
Executive Order to expand
the eligible pool of trainees
who can administer vaccinations
at distribution sites
to include: Licensed Practical
Nurses, Pharmacists,
Pharmacy Technicians, Midwives,
Dentists, Certain Dental
Hygienists, Podiatrists,
Emergency Medical Technicians
and Certain Eligible
Students.
Appointment
Frustration
Calls by the public as to
where they can get the vaccine
are jamming phone and cell
lines with people waiting for
60 minutes to get an answer.
The appointment calendar is
filling fast with some recent
individuals over 65 years of
age, having to wait until late
April for a vaccine reservation.
As of January 17, online
appointment registration has
flooded the websites, leading
to massive inconvenience and
confusion by those wishing to
make a reservation. It is also
a problem for older non-tech
savvy users who are easily
perplexed over the operability
of the sites and lack of instruction
and appointment availability.
Success appears to be
rather random because one
can try all day and get nothing
while another person can
enter a site and randomly get a
vaccine appointment the next
day. This is much like the lottery
with one’s health the winner.
With the addition of an inoculation
workforce, streamlined
online service, and
more vaccine availability, the
frustration of making an appointment
and getting a vaccine
should improve over
the month based on what our
elected officials say about the
dedicated focus currently underway.
High School
students are not
eligible
High schools have been
closed for a couple of months.
The many high schools that
NY City has opened for vaccine
inoculation are not for
students but are for the nearby
population that is eligible for
the vaccine.
More potentially dangerous
infection spots are vocationally
oriented high schools
that are shut down because
of the close proximity of students
to each other and to instructors,
with group handson
equipment classes.
Teachers are one group that
has been opened for vaccines.
According to one teacher, they
are getting vaccines in preparation
for the eventual reopening
of schools. Right now,
teachers are required to make
reservations then can go to
any vaccine center in the state
to receive their inoculation.
Then they wait another three
weeks for the second shot.
One teacher said that he felt
they were getting all teachers
vaccinated so that when high
schools reopen, they will be
ready.
Some instructors are working
in the schools but no students
are seen in the normally
crowded halls.
He said, “It was scary
working so close to the students
during their hands- on
training.”
He expressed concern
about keeping those in eligible
groups coming to the school
for vaccines and staying
away from any students that
might be in the area when the
schools are reopened. Keeping
a separate area for these
two distinct groups is important
since currently students
are not part of the vaccine
group. The vaccine group is
mainly for those over 18 years
of age, so this presents a problem
as well with mixed ages in
schools.
This instructor said he
tried to get an appointment
the day sites came online, but
was not able to since sites were
not yet set up to deal with the
newest groups. However he
persisted and eventfully he
found a site in order to make a
reservation.
Prognosis
Vaccine reservations and
inoculations are now becoming
available throughout New
York State. Getting an appointment
for the vaccine is
extremely difficult at this time
because of the overwhelming
desire for the vaccine. As of
January 17, one can see lines
up and around various vaccine
sites. The same types
of lines that surround vaccine
sites today were around
test facilities a week before
Thanksgiving. The shift from
testing to vaccines is evident.
Dr. Fauci, Mayor DeBlasio and
Governor Cuomo warned of
the impending surge in cases
after the holidays when airports
were actually busy for
the first time since last February.
At this time there is not a
dedicated vaccine center for
NY airports but this is a consideration
being discussed by
the Port Authority, NYC and
NYS.
The good news is that airport
workers are now part of
the 1b group eligible for the
vaccine, and vaccine sites
are expanding. NYS has
recognized the people who
serve over 100 million or so
passengers a year from NY
airports as essential to our
society.
Having this eligibility status
will keep airport workers
healthy and allow our air
transportation hubs to keep
the travelers safe and confident
so that we all can and
want to fly again for business
and pleasure.
older eligible
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