(East Farmingdale, NY)- COVID-19 vaccines are like the Cabbage Patch kids in the 80’s, everyone wants one but they are really hard to find. Except, its not a Cabbage Patch Kid, its a potentially life saving vaccine and to say it’s not easy to get an appointment for a COVID vaccine on Long Island, doesn’t even do it justice.
- Northwell Health, had originally partnered with both Nassau and Suffolk Counties to book vaccine appointments, but as of the time of this article, due to a limited supply, Northwell is no longer booking any 1st dose appointments. Northwell is still booking 2nd dose appointments, more information, is available here
- The New York State COVID-19 vaccine website, ‘am i eligible’, at the time of this article, didn’t have any available appointments for the two Long Island facilities at Jones Beach and Stony Brook. If you don’t mind an almost nine hour car ride each way, appointments are available at the New York State COVID-19 facility in Potsdam, NY. The New York State appointments are made through the am i eligible website, you can access that here.
- As of February 15, 2021, more New Yorker’s will be eligible to receive a first dose of a COVID vaccine. This list includes people with certain health conditions like cancer and diabetes, read the full list here.
- On Tuesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that 11 new community pop up community vaccination centers would open this week in New York. Two of the 11, community vaccination centers will be on Long Island. The appointments will be handled directly by the locations holding the events.
- February 11th at The Magnolia Center in Long Beach, NY
- February 12th at The Gerard Ryan Outreach center in Wyandanch, NY
- Certain CVS Pharmacy locations on Long Island are offering vaccine appointments, but at the time of this article, none were available. Here is the link to the CVS site to book and look for an appointment.
- Walgreen’s Pharmacy locations are also offering vaccines in certain states, including New York but the site redirects users back to the New York State am i eligible site, which does not list any available appointments. You can check out the Walgreens COVID vaccine information here.
So how do you get an appointment? Maybe the answer is waking up at midnight everyday to check the state website? Other’s suggest, checking the websites hourly. Maybe the answer is having patience and hoping that eventually, the supply increases and there are some left for you and your loved ones? This writer isn’t sure what the answer is. In either event, the best advice is to continue to practice social distancing, wear masks and wash hands until further notice.
Photo: A health care worker, left, screens a person at a COVID-19 vaccination site at CitiField, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in the Queens borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
