Changing Rules
COVID-19 vaccine is scarce; that is an undeniable fact. The vaccine rollout by the State has been rightfully deemed a near disaster by elected officials of all parties. The number of people eligible to receive it has far outpaced the supply of this life-preserving commodity. Across our country this massive effort is playing out with tightly restricted eligibility and many logistical hurdles. The most recent of which is a change in the New York State Department of Health rules that spell out who can vaccinate whom. This is another point of confusion due to poor planning and Albany arrogance, plain and simple.
The latest update mandates that local health departments vaccinate ONLY essential workers including police, firefighters, teachers, college professors, and grocery store workers. The state is requiring that local pharmacies and physician network or practice groups vaccinate those 65 years of age and above.
However, since our local pharmacy and provider network is still either getting ready to vaccinate seniors or awaiting State approval to begin, our Health Department was sent additional doses of vaccine to assist our senior residents. We do not anticipate being allowed to vaccinate those 65 years of age and above as this process continues.
We have very significant concerns about this NY State plan, given their track record to date, and we will continue to fight for Rockland’s fair share of vaccine. But, as changes are frequently made by NY State, I advise residents to regularly check our Department of Health COVID-19 website for the latest information: https://rocklandgov.com/departments/health/coronavirus-covid-19/
That page is where you can find the appointment registration link when our County Health Department does have vaccine. Our COVID-19 page also provides information for where else you can look for vaccination appointments. But as you all may already be aware, the NYS “Am I Eligible” tool which I have mentioned in the past has changed and now only provides registration links to the state-operated vaccination sites.
Appointments for vaccinations performed by local pharmacies and physician network or practice groups must currently be made through their individual websites. We understand that this is not an easy process and can be extremely frustrating. We can again thank the wonks in Albany for additional confusion and anxiety.
To that end, our Office for the Aging (OFA) has launched a Senior Call Center to help with this process. Any senior or resident with a disability in need of assistance with vaccination registration may call 845-364-2110.
OFA staff will ask for your consent to add your information to a database and then they will look for and attempt to secure an appointment for you. If you are in need of transportation, we can arrange for the Medical Transportation program to provide a taxi to your appointment. This program pays the first $10 each way for a round trip. If available, we can also arrange for a volunteer to drive you to your appointment.
We know how important it is to ensure the safety of this at-risk population group and are doing all we can to help those who call us get appointments. For those of you waiting to be vaccinated, I ask for your patience as we push for NY State to do better. We in Rockland County will continue to fight for our fair share of vaccine for local residents.
NY State has said that they expect more sites to open soon and for this process to improve. I am a bit dubious to say the least, but I can promise that we will continue to do everything in our power to help you get vaccinated at our Department of Health or at another site in Rockland.
