BUFFALO, N.Y. — More doses available and more places to get a shot.
Those are the key components in the race to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19, and the effort to do so, which began under former President Donald Trump and Operation Warp Speed continues to gain traction.
“The vaccine is now coming in, and it's going to come in large quantities over the next several weeks," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday, when said added that felt fine after having received the single dose vaccination developed by Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday.
Indeed, the crashed websites, canceled clinics, and frustrations felt by many just a month ago who made appointments only to find they wouldn't be able to get the shot for several weeks may be easing.
In fact, depending on how far you are willing to travel, it is now possible to get a vaccination within a few days after making an appointment through the New York State Department of Health website.
Vaccine appointments are already booked into next week, at the state's newest mass vaccination clinic in Western New York at the Conference Center in Niagara Falls, where crews were busy Thursday preparing the site to begin operating on Friday.
According to the state, the site is prepared to administer more than 1,000 doses per day to those who meet current eligibility criteria.
In Buffalo, it was also announced on Thursday that there will be a one-day “pop up” vaccination clinic at the Northwest Community Center on Friday. It will be limited to residents of the 14207-zip code and offer 500 doses until supplies run out.
North District Common Council member Joseph Golombeck, who pushed for the clinic, said the short notice they had left them scrambling to find vaccination candidates to make appointments.
"I had a working lunch today, and I was able to get four people signed up at my lunch meeting at a local establishment in Black Rock," said Golombeck, who told WGRZ-TV that within the first two hours of registration 125 slots had already been filled.
No switching
With more vaccination sites opening, some viewers have wondered whether they might be able to get their second dose at a location closer to their homes than the one they may have traveled hundreds of miles to in order to get the first dose.
According to New York State the answer for now is no.
The state is discouraging recipients from attempting to cancel their second dose appointments in favor of finding someplace closer because vaccines are pre-ordered and shipped to those sites accordingly, and it's fearful that doses could then be wasted.
No thank you
With additional vaccines also coming to pharmacies and grocery stores, the time is approaching when it will not be difficult to find a vaccine
However, there will be a dose of individuals will also not be interested in obtaining one.
“Nothing in medicine is perfect right? There's always a relative benefit to risk ratio for anything we do in life,” noted infectious disease specialist Dr. Thomas Russo of the Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo.
But now, three months into the vaccination process, he believes a growing number of those initially skeptical and hesitant, may be willing to take it
“It was an early concern, but I think people are feeling more comfortable that the vaccine is safe," he said.