[ad_1]
JONES BEACH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — New York opened the state’s first COVID-19 drive-thru mass vaccination middle on Long Island on Thursday. Hundreds of individuals sat of their automobiles and had been among the many first to get their photographs.
But so many extra had been left behind annoyed and making an attempt to navigate a system that’s overwhelmed, CBS2’s Carolyn Gusoff reported.
MORE: COVID Vaccine: Long Island County Sites Swamped By Residents Trying To Make Vaccination Appointments
Cars crammed with grateful and fortunate residents who acquired by means of the sign-up crush and scored the primary appointments at Jones Beach snaked into vaccine tents. Among them was an 88-year-old girl.
“I feel wonderful. I said I’m very grateful,” she mentioned.
She was particularly grateful for her computer-savvy daughter.
“By the grace of God I got the appointment for my mother. There was not one ounce of availability on any site,” the daughter mentioned.
COVID VACCINE
Seven hundred doses had been administered on Thursday. The mega website has a capability of 5,000 to 10,000. State officers mentioned they want Washington to make that occur.
“The federal government needs to do better. We need Washington D.C. to step us and provide doses so we can get the shots out to protect New Yorkers,” New York State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid mentioned.
West Babylon resident Anna Foley, who’s 83 and combating two kinds of most cancers, waited for her flip in a system vulnerable to crashes and jammed with everybody over 65.
“I really am frustrated, almost to tears sometimes,” Foley mentioned. “We need somebody to work on this problem. It shouldn’t have been this way.”
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
Republican lawmakers known as the rollout utter chaos.
“I really can’t think of anything crueler than putting our senior citizens on a computer in hopes of getting a date and not being able to get it,” Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta mentioned.
Others criticized Gov. Andrew Cuomo for opening up the floodgates to too many abruptly. They additionally known as for pharmacists to start vaccinating.
“The scheduling should be at all these pharmacies like when you go for a flu shots,” state Sen. Mario Metera mentioned.
MORE: COVID Vaccine: New Yorkers Frustrated By Lack Of Appointments; Officials Blame Low Supply
Officials mentioned the issue has to do with the state solely getting 300,000 doses per week, including pc sign-up glitches are being mounted.
“We have people from the information technology services who are working on this 24/7,” New York State Emergency Management Director Michael Kopy mentioned.
While appointments on the Jones Beach website are booked by means of April, officers mentioned extra appointments will open up earlier than then as New York is allotted extra vaccines by the federal authorities.
More mass vaccination websites, together with one at Stony Brook University, are anticipated to open within the coming days.
CBS2’s Carolyn Gusoff contributed to this report
MORE FROM CBS NEW YORK
[ad_2]
Source link
