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This story was reported by Robert Brodsky, Lisa L. Colangelo, Bart Jones and John valenti. It was written by Jones.
A second mass COVID-19 vaccination site opened on Long Island at Stony Brook University on Monday, along with pop-up sites in Uniondale and Bellport, as more residents rolled up their sleeves for the first of two doses of protection against the virus.
The openings were a welcome change for many from the frustration and chaos of the vaccine rollout last week, marked by online confusion and an offer that couldn’t keep up with an eligible group that was steadily growing.
The launch of Stony Brook follows last week’s opening of the mass site at Jones Beach. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said Monday that 3,511 vaccinations had been given at Jones Beach, at the rate of 877 per day.
Five mass sites are operating in the state, with eight more expected to open this week, the governor said.
Many of those who were vaccinated at Stony Brook on Monday were among 20,000 people who made an appointment using an unauthorized registration web link that was misrepresented last week, only to find that their appointments followed suit. been canceled.
The state inspector general’s office is trying to determine whether anyone leaked the link before it went live or whether the site was hacked, officials said.
Elizabeth Brown, 51, who teaches English as a New Language to high school students in the Longwood School District, said she was “crushed” when her appointment was canceled. But after grabbing a valid seat, she felt relieved.
“It’s life changing in that my school comes down to four days a week of full-time classes for students,” said Brown, of Southold. “I will have over 20 students in my class starting February 1, and it gives me that level of confidence that I will not report the virus to my mother, whom I take care of and who is on oxygen.
The vaccination schedule was in turmoil last week, officials and residents said, after the number of people eligible for vaccines jumped from around 2 million to 7 million in a matter of days.
The first group approved were frontline healthcare workers, residents and nursing home staff. But that was expanded last week to include police, firefighters, teachers and other essential workers, as well as anyone over 75. And then the eligible group grew again, to include those over 65.
The changes caused unrest as people tried unsuccessfully to log on to the state’s website and make an appointment for the limited number of doses available.
Cuomo, revisiting his frequent criticism of the federal government on the vaccine supply on Monday, published a letter he sent to Dr. Albert Bouria, chief executive officer of Pfizer, asking New York to purchase vaccines directly from of the society. Cuomo said he has yet to receive a response from Pfizer.
More than 3,760 providers have applied for and have been approved by the state to serve as vaccination sites. Currently, 636 sites are activated, including 105 on Long Island which include hospitals, emergency care and pharmacies.
A Suffolk County pharmacy owner, who left the program in frustration last week, said on Monday he resumed giving vaccinations after the state adjusted his schedule.
The Fairview Pharmacy at Port Jefferson Station, listed on the state’s website as a vaccination site, was overwhelmed with hundreds of people calling last week – even though the pharmacy had no doses, said owner Michael Nastro. He said last week that he was withdrawing from the program because his phone system had collapsed and he couldn’t operate his regular pharmacy business.
But Nastro said on Monday that the state had removed his business from its planning website, which now lists only state-run mass vaccination sites, and that he was only instructed to vaccinate the 65 and over group.
This, he said, “lets us manage this … Now I feel like I have some control.”
He received 200 doses at the end of last week and began administering them Monday morning, but he still has a waiting list of 4,000 and was unsure when he would receive his next shipment.
Cuomo said another flaw in the vaccination effort is that many doctors and nurses working in state hospitals have not been vaccinated themselves. As they get sick with the virus, the staff decreases.
Only 62.8% received vaccines statewide, and Long Island had the lowest percentage of hospital workers vaccinated than any region in the state at 60.1%, according to the state.
That, combined with other more contagious strains of the virus from the UK, Brazil and South Africa that could arrive here or have already been there, could create a “nightmare” situation for hospitals, said Cuomo.
Smithtown’s Sainte-Catherine de Siena Medical Center was ranked among the worst performing hospitals on Long Island for vaccination of hospital workers at 43.3%, state officials said. It was followed by St. Charles to Port Jefferson (43.6%); St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn (45.7%), which is also part of Catholic Health Services; and Mercy Medical at Rockville Center (47.2%). The Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue completed the list at 53.4%.
Five Catholic Health Service Hospitals are also among Long Island’s worst performing medical facilities in terms of administering state-allocated doses. They include Sainte-Catherine (51%); Saint-Joseph de Bethpage Hospital (63%); Saint-Charles (75%); Mercy Medical Center (75%) and Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip (87%).
Catholic health services did not immediately respond to calls for comment. A spokesperson for the Long Island Community Hospital said, “We have vaccinated 100% of our frontline workers who are eligible and have requested the vaccine,” although she added that some who initially refused had. change of opinion.
Glen Cove and Syosset Hospitals, both part of the Northwell Health System, were included in the list of worst performing hospitals for immunization of hospital workers. Glen Cove vaccinated about 46.2%, while Syosset vaccinated 46.5%.
In a statement, Northwell said he was inoculating hundreds of employees every day. “We are not making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory and we expect the rate of staff vaccinated to vary from facility to facility,” the statement said.
Open pop-up sites
Grace Cathedral International in Uniondale was one of eight church pop-up sites to offer the vaccine on Monday.
Karim Camara, executive director and deputy commissioner in the governor’s office of faith-based community development services, said the goal was to deliver the vaccine to underserved communities that have been hit hardest.
There were enough doses to immunize 250 people at the church, according to Northwell Health President and CEO Michael Dowling, who has pledged to return to the scene once they receive an additional supply.
Hosting clinics in familiar community sites is key to reaching people who might be hesitant to get vaccinated, said Tracey Edwards, Long Island regional director for the NAACP.
“If we can do that in more than one area, you might be less reluctant because you’ll be online with the people you see in the store, you’ll be online with your neighbors,” Edwards said. “Anything we can do to make it more comfortable for people, we have to do.”
Jeinine Jones-Ford, of Uniondale, said she was surprised how painless she felt after receiving her first dose at church.
“I don’t like needles,” said Jones-Ford, 51, a postal worker and Sunday school teacher. “But I didn’t even feel it. I hope when I come back I find the same nurse.”
Residents were also given pictures at the Boys & Girls Club in Bellport as part of a pilot program, said Steve Bellone, Suffolk County Director.
“This is a pilot project on how we will ultimately do community distributions,” Bellone said, adding that these sites “ensure equity in access to the vaccine”.
Northwell provided 250 doses of the Moderna vaccine for the site. While no exact number of people vaccinated on the site was available on Monday, Bellone said: “The turnout has been excellent … It’s going really well, people are very happy, very grateful.”
At Stony Brook, a steady stream of Long Islanders arrived for the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Mark Jennings, 62, a science teacher at Bellport High School, said the vaccine was essential for his health.
“It’s very important,” said Jennings of East Northport. “I have type 2 diabetes and I don’t want to get this thing.”
Stony Brook, which is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6:15 p.m., administered vaccines to 500 people on Monday, but will have the capacity to use more once the state receives more doses, have state officials said.
Michael Hershkowitz, 44, of South Setauket, said he felt like he had ‘hit the lottery’ when he secured a spot on day one.
“I had six to eight tabs open waiting to load,” said Hershkowitz, a professor at Stony Brook University.
Martin Liptak, 69, a retired FDNY firefighter from East Northport, said he and his wife Carol, who was also vaccinated on Monday, said: “I want to go back there and go eat and do things. that we usually do … We want to get back to normal. “
Victoria Loweree, 62, of Point Lookout, who teaches sophomores at Lawrence, said she felt “very lucky… I teach in person so it means a lot to me to get the most protection. possible”.
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