NY opens thousands of new Covid-19 vaccine appointments, but booking is challenging

Syracuse, NY – New York opened tons of new Covid-19 appointments this morning, but booking them is challenging because of the demand.

Here are some tips from people who have been successful:

Clear your cache before you start.

Start with the state’s Am I Eligible website. Click on the blue “get started” button.

Fill in the participation form. This has been a problem for some as sometimes the screen freezes. Others say the questions about underlying health conditions are not displayed. Therefore, clearing your cache and trying again can help. Others say it helps a different browser.

Once you get past that, you will see a screen similar to the photo below:

This is the screen that needs to be regularly refreshed or updated, then select a site.

You often get a pink screen with the text “Due to the high volume, no appointments can be made for this location at this time.”

Unfortunately that is a dead end. Close that tab and go back to the localization provider screen (shown above).

Hit the update button and repeat.

With a bit of luck, you will end up in a virtual queue at the vaccine site you have selected. Stay on this screen and wait for the clock to count down. That can take up to an hour.

Once it does, hit the Continue button.

That should open the page with the appointments. This morning, readers reported that they are lucky to get February and March appointments at state-run sites.

And don’t forget that the state has a phone line for appointments: 833-697-4829. Although today at 10:50 am, that line played a message that the call volume was high and people were asked to call back later.

Have a story idea or news tip you’d like to share with a Syracuse reporter? Please contact me via e-mail Twitter Facebook or at 315-470-2274.