Eligible seniors in New York City desperate for the COVID-19 vaccine said on Friday that they have not found any available slots and are fed up with the Big Apple’s complicated online application system.
Frank Rodgers, 71, of Staten Island has repeatedly tried to schedule an appointment for him and his wife, 66, to get the vaccine since they became eligible earlier this month, but continues to hit walls.
‘We don’t have an appointment. We don’t know where to go, ”said Rodgers. “All of our options for getting an appointment for the vaccine – there are none.”
Rodgers, a security guard for a private company, said he has tried to book an appointment at one of the city’s vaccine centers in the district.
“There was no availability,” he said. “Then it went to February, then it went to March and there was still no availability.”
Additionally, Rodgers said the city’s online registration system makes the process all the more difficult.
“I am computer literate, but there are people my age who have no idea how to go online and make an appointment. All these people are left out, ”he said.
A 68-year-old Brooklyn resident said she “gave up” trying to get a vaccination appointment as both the city and the state grapple with a shortage of the coveted doses of coronavirus.
“There is no availability,” said Park Slope’s wife, who did not want to be identified.
The retiree repeated frustrations with the appointment application system in town.
“Whoever designed the program should be shot,” she scolded, adding that potential vaccine recipients are forced to enter the same information when they try to book an appointment at one of the public or private vaccination sites listed on the website. mention.
Less than two weeks ago, Alyssa Alaimo, 29, her Staten Island grandparents, aged 82 and 75, came to the rescue, who had difficulty navigating the city’s vaccine registry system.
“My nonna works on a computer and Facebook and couldn’t work [the city] site, ”Alaimo said, noting that her grandparents thought the Big Apple’s system of signing up for a recording involved” too many steps “and was” unclear. “
“They asked me to make appointments for them because they didn’t know how,” Alaimo said.
Alaimo’s grandparents were finally able to get a hard-to-get appointment to get vaccinated, but it was canceled due to a vaccine shortage.
Frances Kraemer, 81, of Queens managed to get an appointment for the vaccine at Mount Sinai Hospital next month, but said she received an email advising her to “seek other vaccination options” due to limited vaccine supplies.
So it’s a bit iffy now. I feel very insecure, ”she said. “I am very restless, anxious and worried.”
The city was forced this week to reschedule more than 22,000 first-dose vaccination appointments for the two-dose injection and close the 15 vaccination centers in the five boroughs through Sunday due to lack of supply.
Staten Island Councilor Joe Borelli told The Post that his 68-year-old father, Alex, is also struggling to get an appointment for the vaccine.
“There are just no slots and not even an option – ‘Okay, we can do it for three weeks’ or whatever the case may be,” Borelli said. “You have to learn how to play the system, for example when to call.”
Borelli added, “This shouldn’t be like trying to get tickets to a Yankee playoff game.”