This story was reported by Robert Brodsky, Lisa L. Colangelo, Bart Jones and John valenti. It was written by Jones.
A second mass vaccination site COVID-19 opened on Long Island on Monday at Stony Brook University, along with pop-up sites in Uniondale and Bellport, while more residents rolled up their sleeves for the first of two doses of protection against the virus.
The openings were a welcome change for many of the frustration and chaos of last week’s vaccine launch, marked by online confusion and a supply that was unable to keep up with an eligible group that continued to grow.
The launch of Stony Brook follows the opening of the mass site in Jones Beach last week. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said on Monday that 3,511 vaccines were administered in Jones Beach at a rate of 877 per day.
Five massive sites are operating in the state, with eight more expected to open this week, the governor said.
Many of those vaccinated on Monday at Stony Brook were among the 20,000 people who made appointments using an unauthorized registration link that was improperly disclosed last week, only to find that their appointments were later canceled.
The State Inspector General’s Office is trying to determine if someone leaked the link before it went live or if the site was hacked, officials said.
Elizabeth Brown, 51, who teaches English as a new language to high school students in the Longwood school district, said she was “devastated” when her appointment was canceled. But after taking a valid seat, she was relieved.
“It’s life-changing as my school is returning to teaching four days a week full time,” said Brown, of Southold. “I will have more than 20 students in my classroom as of February 1, and that gives me the level of confidence that I will not take the virus home to my mother, who I care for and who is taking oxygen.”
The vaccination program was fraught with confusion last week, according to officials and residents, after the number of people eligible for vaccination went from about 2 million to 7 million in a matter of days.
The first approved group was formed by frontline health professionals and residents and nursing home employees. But that was expanded last week to include police, firefighters, teachers and other essential workers, and anyone over 75. And then the eligible group grew again, to include those over 65.
The changes created turbulence, as people tried in vain to access the state website and make an appointment for the limited number of doses available.
Cuomo, returning on Monday to his frequent criticisms of the federal government over the supply of the vaccine, released a letter he sent to Dr. Albert Bouria, president and CEO of Pfizer, asking New York to buy vaccines directly from the company. Cuomo said he has not yet received a response from Pfizer.
More than 3,760 providers have registered and have been approved by the state to serve as vaccination sites. Currently, 636 locations are active, with 105 on Long Island including hospitals, emergency rooms and pharmacies.
A Suffolk County pharmacy owner, who had abandoned the program in frustration last week, said on Monday that he started vaccinating again after the state adjusted its program.
The Fairview Pharmacy in Port Jefferson Station, listed on the state website as a vaccination site, was packed with hundreds of people calling last week – although the pharmacy had no dose, said owner Michael Nastro. He said last week that he was opting out of the program because his phone system had collapsed and he was unable to operate his regular pharmacy business.
But Nastro said on Monday that the state had removed his company from its scheduling website, which now lists only the state-administered mass vaccination sites, and that he was instructed to vaccinate only the group of 65 and older.
This, he said, “makes everything manageable for us … Now I feel like I have some control.”
He received 200 doses at the end of last week and was starting to administer them on Monday morning, but he still has a waiting list of 4,000 people and was not sure when he would receive his next shipment.
Cuomo said another difficulty with the vaccination effort is that many doctors and nurses who work in state hospitals have not been vaccinated themselves. As people become ill with the virus, staff numbers decrease.
Only 62.8% received vaccines across the state, and Long Island had the lowest percentage of hospital workers vaccinated than any region in the state, 60.1%, according to the state.
This, combined with other more contagious strains of the virus from the UK, Brazil and South Africa that may arrive here or have already arrived, could create a “nightmare” situation for hospitals, Cuomo said.
St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown was ranked the worst performing hospital on Long Island to vaccinate hospital staff at 43.3%, state officials said. It was followed by St. Charles in Port Jefferson (43.6%); St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn (45.7%), which is also part of the Catholic Health Services; and Mercy Medical at Rockville Center (47.2%). Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue completed the list with 53.4%.
Five Catholic Health Services hospitals also ranked among Long Island’s worst performing medical facilities in terms of administering doses allocated by the state. They include Santa Catarina (51%); St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bethpage (63%); St. Charles (75%); Mercy Medical Center (75%) and Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip (87%).
Catholic Health Services did not immediately return calls for comment. A spokeswoman for Long Island Community Hospital said, “We vaccinated 100% of our frontline employees who are eligible and who applied for the vaccine,” although she added that some who initially refused changed their minds.
Glen Cove Hospital and Syosset Hospital, both part of the Northwell Health system, were included in the list of worst performing hospitals for vaccinating employees. Glen Cove vaccinated about 46.2%, while Syosset vaccinated 46.5%.
In a statement, Northwell said it inoculates hundreds of employees every day. “We did not make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory and we expect the vaccination rate to vary from one center to another,” the statement said.
Pop-up sites open
Grace Cathedral International in Uniondale was one of eight religious pop-up sites to offer the vaccine on Monday.
Karim Camara, executive director and deputy commissioner of the governor’s office for Religious-Based Community Development Services, said the goal is to bring the vaccine to the neediest communities that have been hardest hit.
There were enough doses to vaccinate 250 people in the church, according to Northwell Health President and CEO Michael Dowling, who promised to return to the site as soon as they received additional supplies.
Hosting clinics in well-known locations in the community is critical to reaching people who may be hesitant to be vaccinated, said Tracey Edwards, NAACP’s Long Island regional director.
“If we can do this in several areas, you may be less reluctant because you will be online with the people you see in the store, you will be online with your neighbors,” said Edwards. “We must do everything we can do to make it more comfortable for people.”
Jeinine Jones-Ford of Uniondale said she was surprised at how painless she felt after receiving her first dose at church.
“I don’t like needles,” said Jones-Ford, 51, a postman and Sunday school teacher. “But I didn’t even feel it. I hope that when I get back, I’ll get the same nurse.”
Residents were also filmed at the Boys & Girls Club in Bellport as part of a pilot program, said Suffolk County executive Steve Bellone.
“This is a pilot of how we will ultimately make community-based distributions,” said Bellone, adding that such sites “ensure that there is equality in terms of access to the vaccine.”
Northwell provided 250 doses of the Moderna vaccine to the site. Although no exact number of vaccinees on site were available on Monday, Bellone said: “Participation has been great … It’s going very well, people are very happy, very grateful.”
At Stony Brook, a steady stream of Long Islanders arrived to receive the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Mark Jennings, 62, a science professor at Bellport High School, said getting the vaccine was critical to his health.
“It’s very important,” said Jennings, of East Northport. “I’m a type 2 diabetic and I don’t want to get this thing.”
Stony Brook, which operates seven days a week, from 8 am to 6:15 pm, administered vaccines to 500 people on Monday, but will be able to serve once more the state receives more doses, state officials said.
Michael Hershkowitz, 44, of South Setauket, said he felt he “hit the lottery” when he secured a spot on the first day.
“I had six to eight open guides just waiting to load,” said Hershkowitz, a professor at Stony Brook University.
Martin Liptak, 69, a retired FDNY firefighter from East Northport, said he and his wife, Carol, who was also vaccinated on Monday, said, “I want to go back there and go out to eat and do the things we usually do. .. We want to get back to normal. “
Victoria Loweree, 62, of Point Lookout, who teaches second graders in Lawrence, said she feels “very lucky … I teach personally, so it means a lot to me to get as much protection as possible.”