Vaccine distribution at a halt

By CLOEY CALLAHAN
Posted 1/27/21

The COVID-19 vaccination distribution hasn’t gotten any faster since millions of New Yorkers in the phase 1b group, which includes people age 65 and over, first responders, teachers, public …

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Vaccine distribution at a halt

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The COVID-19 vaccination distribution hasn’t gotten any faster since millions of New Yorkers in the phase 1b group, which includes people age 65 and over, first responders, teachers, public transit workers, grocery store workers, public safety workers and more, became eligible to receive it as of January 11.

The Orange County Health Department administered 1,000 vaccinations at the county’s point of distribution, located at a county facility on Hatfield Lane in Goshen, on Thursday, January 21.

“Orange County continues to administer 100 percent of the vaccination provided to us by the State,” Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus said in a press release. “The County has the capacity to vaccinate thousands of residents each week but supplies from the State and Federal Governments have been limited. ”

Over the last two weeks, Orange County distributions more than 1,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine.

“As vaccines are slowly rolled out, residents should understand that the amount available is significantly less than what we currently need,” said Commissioner of Health Dr. Irina Gelman in a press release. “We are excited that we have been able to administer the 2,000 doses in the past few weeks, and we will continue to set up PODs as doses become available to us.”

In New Windsor, the Town of New Windsor Emergency Medical Services Ambulance Corps was identified as a COVID-19 vaccination distribution site by New York State.

Starting on Monday, January 25 residents are able to call the town’s recreation department between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to be placed on a waiting list.

“They’re not doing a very good job with the distribution,” said Town Supervisor George Meyers. “I’m trying my hardest to get it done but we’re in the same boat everyone else seems to be in.”

New York State also has a number of state-operated sites, with the closest one being the Westchester County Center or SUNY Albany. To schedule an appointment at one of these sites, those eligible must visit am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov.

During the City of Newburgh’s work session on Thursday, January 21, Mayor Torrance Harvey said that local churches have also expressed interest in having their space used for vaccination distribution. City Manager Joseph Donat said that at this time they are still waiting to hear from the county, state and federal governments about when they will have more doses.

Currently Newburgh has two sites administering the vaccine, Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall and Cornerstone Family Healthcare. To see if either location has appointment availability, continue to check their websites.

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