NEW INFORMATION LINE: 547-4240
Health Department
‘Overwhelmed’ By
Calls For Vaccines
By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
COOPERSTOWN – Overwhelmed by “hundreds of voice mails” from people asking how to get COVID inoculations, the county Department of Health is asking them to call 1-607-547-4240 for information.
So far, however, it seems there’s not much to say: “We currently have no vaccine available,” county Public Health Director Heidi Bond said in yesterday’s daily press release. “At this time the department is not able to take appointments over the phone. We are also unable to return voice mails.
“We have been overwhelmed with hundreds of voice mails,” she continued. “The new phone line listed above will be utilized to provide callers with updated information about vaccine availability.”
The only in-county site where vaccinations were expected to start today was Kinney Drugs, 10 West Main St., Richfield Springs. The registration line, for people 65 and older, was reopened Wednesday afternoon, but was quickly overwhelmed with call. Today, the site says no more registrations are being taken at this time.
The governor’s COVID-19 web site is continuing to post the same message as in recent days:
- People age 65 and over will primarily be vaccinated at pharmacies and other sites that are part of the “retail network.” Use our online tool to find a location. The COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline is open 7AM – 10PM, 7 days a week, for scheduling vaccination appointments for eligible New Yorkers: 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829).
The site isn’t being updated on a regular basis.
silly system…several states have an app where once you register you are placed in a queue and when vaccines become availability notifications go out to register. Under the current system its basically a “call of the wild” system where one needs to sit on the vaccination sign up link 24/7. I get it, the vaccine is in real short supply so one does have to be patient, but at least come up with a better system so everyone gets a fair shot and not those who may have fore knowledge of availability.
just a follow-up to my previous note. I don’t blame the Otsego Health Department as they are incredibly over-worked and doing a real good job with the resources they have. if the Feds had planned correctly they would have had a system ready once the vaccines got approved. However having said that the State now needs to step up given the feds are basically incompetent (at least this current group-hopefully we’ll see some positive changes come the 20th of this month)…and my wife wants to point out my misuse of the word “availability” instead of “available.”