BUFFALO, N.Y. — 2 On Your Side has been hearing about difficulty senior citizens face when trying to land a coveted COVID vaccination appointment.
Roni Zolnowski tweeted:
Then we heard from Ang Reese, worried about her grandmother:
Reese notes they did eventually get a vaccination appointment at a Tops supermarket in Hamburg.
Part of the challenge for seniors is navigating the reservation labyrinth. There are multiple avenues to get a vaccine dose. But a woman who has spent 25-years helping seniors sort through the healthcare system says it can be very challenging for seniors who are not tech savvy.
“I just think it could be probably better coordinated," said Kristen Surdej of Laping, Surdej Associates. "I mean you have a state option. You have a county option and then you have direct providers like Rite-Aid and CVS and Wegmans as options."
The primary problem for everyone else seeking a vaccination is the shortage of doses. State data indicates New York has been allocated 1.1 million doses. If vaccination requires two-doses per state resident, forty times the current supply would be needed to cover everyone.
The Times-Union reports that county leaders in the eastern half of the state are concerned seniors, who are most vulnerable to the virus, might be bypassed. And in some respects, it appears that's true.
Governor Andrew Cuomo's point man on vaccinations is Senior Advisor Larry Schwartz. He tells the Albany newspaper that if counties were to start vaccinating people 65 and older with the state's current allocation of vaccine, "that means fewer police officers, fewer fire-fighters, fewer teachers, fewer grocery workers are going to be able to get a shot."