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Syracuse, New York – On Wednesday afternoon, dozens of residents of the Vineyards of Miller Place retirement community were awarded the gold equivalent: Covid-19 vaccine appointments at nearby Stony University Brook.
Using a link provided by the City of Port Jefferson, resident Sharon Tiskowitz said at least 50 people at the resort have signed up to be vaccinated, taking a huge step towards resuming normal life . They quickly received emails confirming their appointments, each with a barcode and an appointment time, under the New York State Department of Health letterhead.
“We were euphoric because we finally made it after days of trying to access the website,” said Tiskowitz, who made an appointment for her and her husband in mid-March.
On Thursday afternoon, they received another email: Their appointments were canceled because the website link they were using was not supposed to be public yet. Get back online, the state said.
“It’s horrible,” Tiskowitz said. “We printed confirmations with a seal on them from the state health department. We cannot believe this is happening.
Thousands of people from Long Island to Upstate New York lost their coveted dates Thursday after they clicked in good faith on what the state calls an “inactive link.”
Jackie Cole, a first-grade teacher on Long Island, made an appointment Monday for the Jones Beach site, an hour’s drive from her home. A day or two later, a coworker sent a link that allowed her to sign up for Stony Brook, which is much closer to her home. This left him with two dates.
“I did the right thing and canceled the Jones Beach date so that someone else wouldn’t go without the vaccine,” Cole said. Then the state canceled its Stony Brook vaccine.
“I’m beside myself,” said Cole, who couldn’t reschedule another date. “I have underlying health issues, and now I feel ripped off and thrown in the trash.”
A cryptic press release sent out Thursday evening by the state’s office of information technology – not the health department – said a link to six unopened vaccination sites had been leaked. Appointments made using this link have been “canceled,” the statement said.
“You made a vaccination appointment for a state-run site via an inactive link that was shared without permission,” the letter said. “(B) because the site is not currently taking reservations, your appointment and confirmation have been canceled.”
People who had their appointment papers in hand were furious.
“I think it’s blatant that they canceled all of the dates,” said Heather Gordon, who was finally able to plan a Feb. 7 shooting in Stony Brook for her 71-year-old father, who has several. health problems. “I have a bar code. I printed a registration ticket for him and it seemed perfectly legitimate to me.
The state press release said the leaked link allowed people to register at sites in Binghamton, Buffalo, Plattsburgh, Potsdam, Stony Brook and Utica.
With the state receiving just 300,000 doses of vaccine per week for the now-eligible 7 million New Yorkers, getting an appointment for a vaccine has become the holy grail for many New Yorkers. They were frustrated by clunky websites, blocked phone lines, and a confusing cascade of eligibility requirements.
Nick Palczak, a high school teacher in Oneida County, said he tried for days to get an appointment after teachers became eligible for the vaccine this week.
“I went to our county’s website and clicked on links to hospitals, looking for hours,” he said. “Every time I clicked on a link, there was nothing.”
On Thursday morning, a friend emailed a link to schedule an appointment at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. Palczak hopped on the state health department’s website and quickly had an appointment for Jan.21.
“When I filled it in, it was as real as it was real,” he says.
A few hours later, the second email arrived: Appointment canceled. Come back to begin.
“It’s frustrating,” he says. “I want to be responsible and they encourage us (to get vaccinated) to go back to school and get things done.”
People who signed up for nominations shouldn’t have to pay for the state’s mistakes, said Bob Pacific, of Frankfort, Herkimer County. Pacific, who had made appointments for him and his wife, said he wrote to his congressman for the first time in his life.
“If that wasn’t a valid link then someone was laughing,” Pacific said. “I think they should take care of this task and contact us for new appointments.”
The state canceled the dates to be fair to New Yorkers who did not have the unauthorized connection, said Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo’s main assistant.
The press release from the Information Services office does not say who leaked the registration link, where it appeared on social media, or how many people made an appointment. He said the case had been referred to the state inspector general’s office, which was investigating the conduct of state employees and agencies.
– Hundreds of New Yorkers who signed up for Covid-19 appointments – and received official confirmation letters like this – were told Thursday afternoon that their appointments had been canceled because they were using an “inactive link” to register. Special at Syracuse.comSpecial at Syracuse.com
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