NYC Guide: Getting Vaccinated
Image Source: ABC News NYC
So this is a last minute add to the newsletter that was prompted by a woman in my building posting tonight in our building forum that she and her husband have not been able to get the vaccine.
“Need help getting Covid vaccine
My husband and I are both over 65 and we have been trying for weeks to get a vaccine appointment. We check online multiple times a day, have called the hotline daily and have reached out to all our health care providers. No luck. I am very concerned because next week the governor is opening up another group that will result in millions more people trying to get the same appointments.
If anyone has any suggestions, connections to other resources or recommendations of where else we can look, we would greatly appreciate it. We have a car so we can go pretty much anywhere we need to for a appointment.
Thank you for your help.”
Once I saw the message I wanted to help them immediately because the system in NYC to get vaccines is beyond flawed. The fact that being tech savvy is a requirement to get a vaccine is a little ludicrous knowing that most people in the high risk group are not the most familiar. Honestly, if my mom didn’t have my siblings or I, not sure if she would be able to navigate it.
I also know a lot of my friend’s parents are having trouble getting the vaccine; I've heard of hospitals and medical centers disposing of their leftover vaccines end of day because they can’t be refrozen (this is obviously not their fault, but there has to be a better system in place to maximize vaccine distribution); but I think the worst is hearing about people getting the vaccine who aren’t even in the groups to receive them yet because of a “connection”. I honestly find that the most despicable since there are so many people in dire need of it.
I posted her message in some of the FB groups I belong to and they rallied as I knew they would. I shared the information I gathered with her, so she and her husband can hopefully get vaccinated. I wanted to share this information with my readers as well. I know most of you are not in the demographic to be vaccine eligible, but maybe a friend, colleague, parent or family member is, so please share this info with them. This disease is stressful enough; trying to get a vaccine you are entitled to should not be so hard.
Turbovax
TurboVax finds the latest vaccine appointments from 43 city and state-run administration sites in the NYC area. This was started by Huge Ma, a 31 year old software engineer, who was appalled when he tried to make a coronavirus vaccine appointment for his mom back in January. He knew there had to be a better way and created this site in less than two weeks!
There are two ways that you can use their tool:
Follow their Twitter account—click on @turbovax to be instantly notified when appointments open up.
Click on this link and refresh often. Appointments are published to this page in real-time.
Walgreens
Walgreens has opened more appointments today, so that is an option especially if there is one close to your home. You can sign up and make an appointment online by clicking this link.
Mom & Pop Pharmacies
A lot of people have had success getting vaccinated at neighborhood pharmacies. I personally did not even know this was an option, so if you are having trouble securing an appointment, local pharmacies have them and are making appointments via phone so elderly or immunocompromised people do not have to wait in long lines.
Metropolitan Hospital
If your home is close to the UES and you want to try your luck vs making an appointment, you should go to Metropolitan Hospital at 6:30pm. If they have any leftover vaccines that day, they will administer it to eligible people who are there. They are located at 1901 1st Avenue.
Weill Cornell
Another option is setting up an account at Weill Cornell Connect and trying to make an appointment through them directly. You do not need to be a current patient there. Click this link to join.
OU-JLIC
As a part of OU-JLIC Downtown's Killing COVID w Kindness project - dedicated to meeting the ongoing needs of many vulnerable populations during this time they have started an initiative to help get seniors vaccine registered. They are seeking to collect all the relevant information of seniors in New York and New Jersey who are struggling to book appointments for themselves. They can't make any promises but will try their best through familiarity and persistency to find all available appointments. Click on this link to fill out the doc.
Somos
This was another alternative shared that has available doses if a location is close to you. Click on this link.
Hoping that list is able to help others out there. I will updated if I get any more leads.