New Yorkers are willing to drive six hours to the Nab Covid-19 vaccine

She said she spent hours looking for a spot at locally run facilities near her in Westchester County, but was unable to do so. She then turned to a state-run web portal that allows all eligible New York State residents to book appointments at 13 mass distribution centers operated by the state government.

The Jacob. K. Javits Convention Center, a state-run hub in Manhattan, was her first choice, but the only slots available were at a location in Potsdam, St. Lawrence County.

“Searching was an exercise in meaninglessness, so I’m going to have a fun outing,” said Ms. Laverty, who decided she would be working remotely from a vacation rental for a few days while she got the shot.

Other New York residents also said their vaccination appointments were a great excuse for a mini vacation. But most described the appointment process as a nuisance, saying they were frustrated that the state had not allocated a greater number of doses to more densely populated regions.

Local officials across the state have also complained that the state is directing costly vaccine doses to its own hubs – where any New Yorker can sign up for an appointment – instead of piping them to local pharmacies, clinics, or county-run locations that serving residents of the area.

Peter Bartfeld, a 70-year-old attorney, said he made an appointment at a hub in Plattsburgh, which he estimates is a six-hour drive from his home in Valley Stream on Long Island. He picked the spot after failing to get closer for two weeks.

“This is absurd,” he said. “You clearly have a wrong assignment in the state. Why do people have to drive from Long Island to Plattsburgh? “

About seven million New Yorkers meet the state’s current eligibility criteria, including those aged 65 or older, health workers, nursing home residents and staff, as well as key workers, including teachers. State officials said they are given about 250,000 doses of vaccine per week.

About 600,000 people have made appointments at state vaccination centers, health department spokesman Gary Holmes said, and about 75% of them are made by New Yorkers from the same region of the state. State officials did not respond to requests for demographics about who made an appointment or was vaccinated.

Long Islanders can use state hubs at Jones Beach and SUNY Stony Brook, and New York City residents can use city sites or state hubs at the Javits Center or the Aqueduct race track in Queens, each of which can vaccinate at least 1,000 people per day. For most of the past week, the only sites with available appointments were in Plattsburgh and Potsdam, in rural regions. Officials say the two locations can handle 500 appointments a day.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and health officials say vaccine doses are distributed across the state based on population, and certain health care providers are tasked with targeting specific groups: hospitals for health workers, county locations for essential workers, including teachers, and pharmacies for people aged 65 or older.

Nancy Bendiner, 73, booked appointments for herself and her husband at a state-run center in Utica after a county-run clinic near their home in Red Hook, New York, filled up in nine minutes. Their appointments are on consecutive days, so they will spend the night in Utica, she said.

Linda Puiatti, a 65-year-old painter from Dutchess County, travels to Binghamton. “It is a bit sad that we are doing this in a lottery like this. The person closest to the phone will get the prize, ”she said.

Melissa DeRosa, the governor’s top assistant, said government officials made sure there was equality between the locals and the foreigners. Mr. Holmes said the state could consider rebalancing the allocation if problems persist.

“Our goal is to get their hands on guns as quickly and efficiently as possible – if New Yorkers in a particular area don’t book all the available appointments and someone is willing to travel to get an injection, that’s just a reflection of it. woefully inadequate supply of vaccines received from the Trump administration, ”he said.

Biden government officials said last week that they would increase the number of doses allocated to states, a move that Mr Cuomo welcomed.

Local leaders said their vaccine allocations decreased when the hubs opened. Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente, a Republican whose county includes the state hub just outside Utica, said the allotment for a drive-through distribution point set up by the county dropped from 3,000 doses in the week of January 5 to 500 doses per week. from January 20. The state site opened on January 19.

Mr. Holmes would not say how many vaccine doses are being sent to the state hubs, but said the counties’ allocations had been reduced as the distribution network and eligible population targeted by the local health departments had changed.

Debra Blalock, 68, said she was concerned about the road conditions but still plans to drive from Dutchess County to Potsdam for a vaccine. She struggled with the ethics of getting an appointment in another part of the state, but said she was comfortable doing so because people who lived closer had the same ability to sign up.

Although he feared his journey north, Mr. Bartfeld that he heard on Thursday that he could make an appointment with the state hub in Queens at the last minute. The process was efficient and everyone was pleasant, he said.

“Once you have that deal, it’s gold,” he said.

Write to Jimmy Vielkind at [email protected]