Syracuse, NY – On Wednesday afternoon, dozens of residents of the Vineyards of Miller Place retirement community scored the gold equivalent: Covid-19 vaccine nominations at nearby Stony Brook University.
Using a link provided by the city of Port Jefferson, resident Sharon Tiskowitz said that at least 50 people in the complex have signed up to be vaccinated, taking a big step towards resuming normal life. They quickly received emails confirming their appointments, each complete with a barcode and appointment time, on New York State Department of Health letterhead.
“We were elated because we finally made it after days of trying to access the site,” said Tiskowitz, who made an appointment for her and her husband in mid-March.
On Thursday afternoon, they received another email: Their appointments were canceled because the website link they used was not meant to be public yet. Go back to the line, the state said.
“This is horrible,” said Tiskowitz. “We have the confirmations printed with the seal of the state health department. We cannot believe this would happen. “
Thousands of people from Long Island to Upstate New York missed their coveted nominations on Thursday after clicking in good faith on what the state is calling an “inactive link”.
Jackie Cole, a first-grade teacher on Long Island, set up a meeting on Monday for the Jones Beach website, an hour’s drive from home. A day or two later, a colleague sent her a link that allowed her to sign up for Stony Brook, which is much closer to home. This left her with two commitments.
“I did the right thing and canceled the Jones Beach appointment so that someone else would be without the vaccine,” said Cole. Then the state canceled its Stony Brook vaccine.
“I’m out of my mind,” said Cole, who was unable to reschedule another appointment. “I have underlying health problems and now I feel cheated and thrown away with the trash.”
A cryptic press release sent Thursday night from the state’s information technology office – not the health department – said a link to six unopened vaccination sites was leaked. Appointments made using this link have been “canceled”, the statement said.
“You made an appointment for a vaccination for a location administered by the state through an inactive link that was shared without authorization,” the letter said. “(B) and as the site does not currently accept reservations, its scheduling and confirmation have been canceled.”
People who had their commitment papers in hand were furious.
“I think it’s notorious that they canceled all appointments,” said Heather Gordon, who finally managed to schedule an injection on February 7 in Stony Brook for her 71-year-old father, who has a number of medical problems. “I have a bar code. I printed out a registration ticket for him and it looked totally legit. “
The state press release said the leaked link allowed people to sign up for sites in Binghamton, Buffalo, Plattsburgh, Potsdam, Stony Brook and Utica.
With the state receiving only 300,000 doses of vaccine per week for the 7 million New Yorkers now eligible, securing an interview with the vaccine has become the Holy Grail for many New Yorkers. They were frustrated with clumsy websites, congested phone lines and a confusing cascade of eligibility requirements.
Nick Palczak, a high school teacher in Oneida County, said he had tried for days to get an interview after teachers became eligible for the injection this week.
“I’ve been accessing our county’s website and clicking on hospital links, looking for schedules,” he said. “Every time I clicked on a link, there was nothing there.”
On Thursday morning, a friend sent a link by email to make an appointment at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. Palczak accessed the state health department’s website and soon made an appointment for January 21.
“When I filled it out, it was as real as it could be,” he said.
A few hours later, the second email arrived: Appointment canceled. Come back to start.
“It’s frustrating,” he said. “I want to be responsible, and they are encouraging us (to be vaccinated) to go back to school and get things going.”
People who signed up for consultations shouldn’t have to pay for the state’s mistakes, said Bob Pacific of Frankfort in Herkimer County. Pacific, who made appointments for him and his wife, said he wrote to his congressman for the first time in his life.
“If it was not a valid link, then someone was making a mistake,” said Pacific. “I think they need to fix this and contact us for new appointments.”
The state canceled appointments to be fair to New Yorkers who did not have the unauthorized link, said Melissa DeRosa, a senior adviser to Cuomo.
The press release from the information services office does not say who leaked the registration link, where it appeared on social media or how many people marked it. He said that the matter was referred to the State General Inspectorate, which investigates the conduct of State officials and agencies.
– Hundreds of New Yorkers who signed up for Covid-19 appointments – and received official confirmation letters like this one – were informed on Thursday afternoon that their appointments were canceled because they used an “inactive link” to register. Special for Syracuse.comSpecial for Syracuse.com