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ALBANY – Albany County announced on Wednesday that it has launched a pre-registration option on its website for healthcare workers and essential staff who are currently eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
County Director Dan McCoy said the pre-registration system aims to make the vaccine registration process easier for people in eligibility categories 1a and 1b in the state who have not yet been able to register. get vaccinated. The county has already announced online registration events on Tuesdays for immunization clinics later in the week, but the slots fill up almost immediately – leaving many people frustrated when their turn comes.
“More ‘The Hunger Games,’ folks,” McCoy said Wednesday. “It took a little longer than I would like … but basically the biggest complaint is that people are struggling to get online, (clinics) fill up fast and they are shut out.”
The county is encouraging essential workers 1a and 1b to pre-register through the site, which is available at albany.518c19.com. While people aged 65 and over are currently eligible for vaccination, the county is not licensed to vaccinate them.
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McCoy said the site allows people to list all chronic health conditions. People with certain chronic conditions will become eligible for vaccination starting next week, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Monday, and counties have been allowed to vaccinate them. They are also encouraged to pre-register through the site.
“Starting next week, Albany County will be able to immunize (people) of all ages with co-morbidities, including those 65 and older,” county spokeswoman Mary Rozak said in an email. . “We encourage anyone to pre-register and when the time comes, they will be on the list.”
People who complete the form should indicate how they wish to be notified, including by text, email or phone call.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said the pre-registration form will also be available on the town’s website, and people helping friends or family to register are welcome to complete the form at other person’s name.
“What’s great about it is if you’re not good at computers someone can help you fill it out,” she said. “So you can fill it out for someone who is helping you. If you have an elderly person who you don’t want to receive the call to make an appointment, you are their helper or you are their child and you want called, you can put this information. So we’re really trying to make sure that we can reach people in a way that will be effective. “
Sheehan noted that the form also asks for an address, which will become useful when providers seek to host equity-focused vaccination clinics that target certain subdivisions.
“For example, the (Albany) College of Pharmacy has been a great partner,” she said. “So if they get 60 shots and they say they want to focus on the elderly in a particular housing complex, they can go to that list and remove everyone who’s already pre-registered from that address. , it really allows those who get them. vaccinations to have a tool to reach out to populations that are currently very under-represented across the county … to get access to the vaccine. “
Other local counties have also opted for a pre-registration option in order to relieve anxiety.
Schenectady County has even encouraged people aged 65 and over to pre-register on their site in case the county is ultimately allowed to vaccinate this age group.
State Local Assembly members Patricia Fahy, John McDonald and Carrie Woerner issued a joint statement earlier this week urging the state to create its own pre-registration tool. Right now, people are forced to call or visit dozens of different vendor websites – including the Ministry of Health’s Mass Immunization Site registration website – daily to try to s ” register for the vaccine, often without a waiting list or pre-registration option that will inform them when the time slots become available.
“The process of distributing vaccines is confusing, frustrating and makes an already anxious population even more,” they wrote. “We need a simple system that matches supply and demand. We recommend that the governor and the Department of Health move to a pre-registration system that will allow the state and counties to simplify the planning process, eliminate competition for appointments for vaccines, reduce the need to travel several hours to get vaccinated and reduce the overall stress people experience. “
Where do we get our information from?
We monitor updates from local, regional and national governments and verify facts or data before we release them. The sources we rely on include:
Local resources: Daily reports from Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington counties of health.
State resources: COVID report from the New York State Department of Health and the Department of Health.
National resources: National data on verified test sites compiled from local health departments, health care providers, and cities, counties and states. We also rely on national, state, and county data from the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Case Tracker and the COVID Tracking Project.
Other resources: Vaccine information collected from government agencies, companies that produce vaccines, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
We also turn to doctors, nurses, scientists and other public health experts. We strive for accuracy in our reports, but sometimes new developments can happen quickly. If we learn that the information is incorrect, we will update it as soon as possible. You can help by reporting any discrepancies to [email protected]. Learn more about our coronavirus coverage.
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