Long Islanders and other eligible New Yorkers who hoped to book a COVID-19 vaccine online on Sunday, logged on to a state website and found it difficult to meet the large number of requests.
“Due to the high volume, it is not possible to make an appointment at this time for this location. Please try again later,” said a message on Sunday on the website I am eligible from the state in response to a request for a vaccination appointment at Stony Brook University or the 10 other inoculation sites operated by the state.
In a statement on Sunday afternoon, officials at the state health department said the increase in requests for consultations was no surprise and that the site remained fully functional, with 350 vaccine appointments scheduled per minute.
“As expected, the site is experiencing a tremendous increase in volume after consultations were opened for New Yorkers with underlying comorbidities and conditions this morning,” the statement said. “We have been alerting New Yorkers that this would happen last week and, to alleviate any problems, we have added an online waiting room and are releasing new appointments regularly.”
Since these new blocks of appointments will be available throughout the day, people should continue to try, even if the online waiting area is full, officials said.
Sunday was the first day that people with cancer, hypertension and other medical conditions that pose a higher risk of serious COVID-19 were able to try to make an appointment on the Am I Eligible website. The state’s vaccination effort has been hampered by a limited supply of doses amid intense demand.
Nassau County executive Laura Curran said her office is working with partners, including federally qualified health centers, to get vaccine appointments for people with comorbidities.
“We are exploring additional partnerships to further develop our vaccination operation and we will prioritize allocating a portion of our weekly supply to vaccinate this new group,” said Curran in a statement on Sunday. “We don’t waste a dose at our Nassau County Health Department vaccination centers and we will continue to use 100% of the doses we receive quickly.”
Curran said the county’s information technology team is working on a system that will allow people to sign up for a vaccination appointment and, if necessary, be put on a waiting list for the next available one.
Meanwhile, the number of new COVID-19 cases confirmed across the state continued to decline according to the new figures released on Sunday.
The state registered 8,316 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, including 732 in Nassau and 771 in Suffolk.
The percentage of positive cases, of 234,708 test results on Saturday, was 3.14% for the state and 4.5% for Long Island.
This is the lowest daily positivity rate in the entire state since late November, according to state statistics.
“Thanks to the actions of New Yorkers – how to wear masks, keep their distance and make smart decisions – hospitalizations and positivity rates continue to fall, and the increase in the holiday season is in our rear view mirror,” Cuomo said in a statement on Sunday. “The vaccine is the weapon that will win the war against COVID and we have the infrastructure to manage hundreds of thousands of shots as soon as the supply is available,” he said.
Authorities recorded 107 new deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday, including six in Nassau and nine in Suffolk.
The state said 37,118 New Yorkers had died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignments.