Onondaga County to Try New Covid-19 Vaccine Listing for Seniors as 1,000 More Doses Arrive

Syracuse, New York – Onondaga County plans to launch a pilot Covid-19 vaccine pre-registration system specifically for the elderly, many of whom have been left out of the online race to register vaccines, Onondaga County Director Ryan McMahon said today. .

Instead of rushing to get appointments for fast-disappearing vaccines, this system would give people 65 and older in Onondaga County more time to fill out a form on the Internet.

It would create a waiting list, McMahon said today. Then, as the county received vaccine shipments each week, the county would randomly draw those names and arrange appointments for these seniors.

“We know there is a challenge with seniors registering online,” he said. “It is very moving for the elderly. People are afraid and want their lives back. “

The system is not yet open. McMahon said he hoped to have more details on Tuesday – with a pre-registration site open specifically for seniors.

McMahon said he wanted to test this new system this week.

The county expects an additional 1,000 first-injection doses to arrive on Tuesday. Appointments for all eligible residents will open on Thursday on the county’s existing appointment portal. These 1,000 doses will be administered on Friday.

But he’s going to organize some of those slots for seniors using the new pre-registration system as a test.

“We’re going to try this,” he said. “We’ll see if it works better.” Otherwise, he said, he will try something else.

The pre-registration system would work even better, he said, if Kinney Drugs is involved.

McMahon said he was discussing with the chain of future vaccinations in pharmacies, aimed at the elderly. Instead of seniors rushing to a website to get a spot at Kinneys, the county would provide pharmacies with a list of randomly selected, pre-registered seniors, McMahon said.

McMahon said he is also working on pre-registering seniors per household, so couples can go to dates together.

But he warned that this new system is still under construction.

And, he admitted, that won’t solve all vaccine concerns just yet. Demand for vaccines still greatly exceeds supply. He estimates that about 70,000 people in the county of 460,000 are now eligible for the vaccine.

So far, the county has administered nearly 14,000 first-dose injections at its vaccination site.

The county also vaccinated 275 people at People’s AME Zion Church in Syracuse on Monday. It’s part of a state program to introduce the vaccine to black and brown communities, who have suffered proportionately more deaths than other groups.

McMahon said he believes that by the end of this week about 10% of people in the county will have received an injection. This estimate includes all of the Oncenter, New York State Fairgrounds, and participating drugstores.

“We’re going to get through this,” he said.

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