Vaccine Allocations Up as Positive Test Rates Climb Again

Vaccine Allocations Up as Positive Test Rates Climb Again

Cuomo Announces Expanded Vaccine Sites for 65+: On Friday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the state will work with local health departments* to include vaccination sites for the 65+ population and where needed will provide transportation assistance and paperwork support for seniors. Cuomo said these sites will be enabled from increased supplies of the Moderna vaccine beginning this week. The New York State Vaccination Hotline (833-NYS-4-VAX) has also been enhanced with a line specifically for those New Yorkers who are 75+. The line offers direct access to staff who can help with scheduling or answer questions.

Still Waiting on Word from Westchester County

However, the Westchester County Health Department’s* website still says that, under state guidelines, they are prioritizing essential workers and continues to recommend age eligible populations to check the New York State site and local pharmacies for vaccine appointments. We are also awaiting Westchester County’s Week 12 press release on new Vaccine Allocations that is usually issued on Monday or Tuesday and is posted on Westchestercountygov.com under press releases. We will update on these issues as information is released.

Plus, a new Vaccine Finder website

The New York Times recently reported on VaccineFinder , a just launched CDC-backed site run by Boston Children’s Hospital that is an attempt to make finding vaccines easier. Currently it is only working with four states, (Alaska, Indiana, Iowa and Tennessee) with the intent of rolling it out to fifty states soon. The site is intended to identify vaccine appointments nationwide enabling anyone who wants a vaccine to check one place for availability. You would then have to click through to the sites with available appointments to complete your search.

New York Positive Test Rate Decline Stalls Out (Mid-Hudson highest) as concerns mount about new surge 

New York State’s Positive Test Rate 7-day average was 3.58% last week compared to 3.44% last week – which ends a seven consecutive week decline since its fall/winter peak of 7.94% registered the week of December 29 to January 4. New York’s Mid-Hudson region which includes Westchester County remained flat from prior week at 4.14% compared to 4.18%. It was the highest regional rate in the state, followed by Long Island at 3.98% and New York City at 3.91%. This news came amid growing predictions of a new spring surge from health experts due to new more contagious strains of the virus from the UK, South Africa and Brazil.

New York State’s positivity rate peaked at 49.9% on March 30 and was as low as .09% on September 18. It wasn’t until November 5th that it returned to as high as 2%. Nationally, the 7-day rolling average positive test rate dropped to 4.5% last wee from 4.8% the previous week. It’s fall winter peak was 13.7% earlier in January, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine’s Coronavirus Resource Center. The US positive test rate peaked at 21.9% in the spring and bottomed at 4.1% in June and 4% in October.

Mid-Hudson lags in Administering Vaccines

Almost three million New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine (approx. 15%) while just over 1.6 million (8.1%) have completed their vaccine series. Statewide, New York has received over 5.2 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine and has administered over 4.5 million first and second doses. – just under 88%. Our Mid-Hudson region, meanwhile, lags nine New York regions having administered just 81.5% of all doses received. The Mohawk region is last at 80.6%.

The Latest Vaccine Tips

New York State received on average 100,000 more vaccine doses in February (approx. 340,00) compared to January (approx. 240,000). With Cuomo’s hint of additional supply of the Moderna vaccine coming this week and with the number of New Yorkers already vaccinated rising, finding appointments should become gradually less challenging in the weeks ahead. Here’s where to look:

New York State Vaccination Centers (all categories eligible)

The state-run site at the Westchester County Center, which is prioritizing all eligible populations under Phase 1a and 1b as well as immunocompromised* populations under 65, remains your best bet to get an appointment for a vaccine. While we have not been able to track the percentage of vaccines allocated for state-run sites versus those allocated to local distribution centers, we believe that number could be very high.** Check for appointments at the New York State site, and check the New York State hotline for cancellations: 833-NYS-4-VAX.

Westchester County Health Department* (prioritizes essential workers)

The Westchester County Health Department received over 50% of the county’s Week 11 vaccine allocation last week. (Not including the state-run site at the County Center.) They offer an alert system. Despite Governor Cuomo’s announcement that local health departments will administer vaccines to ages 65+, Westchester.gov currently still says that they prioritize essential workers over age eligible county residents. Still, the county’s weekly press releases (which we have published in the past) drills down to tell you the upcoming allocations for local hospitals, pharmacies and community centers. Check for Week 12 Allocations here.

Northern Westchester Hospital (not authorized for the immunocomprised under 65)

Northern Westchester Hospital is prioritizing all populations outlined in the New York State Guidelines under Phase 1a and 1b, which includes health care workers, essential workers and populations aged 65+. They are not currently authorized to vaccinate immunocompromised individuals under age 65 in the expanded eligibility group that was released on February 15. Here’s the link you can use to check for appointment availability at Northern Westchester Hospital,

Local Pharmacies

Local pharmacies and Open Door Medical Centers received the lions share of the Week 11 vaccine allocations not directed to local health departments. However most of that was distributed in COVID Cluster spike areas such as Port Chester, Yonkers, New Rochelle, Peekskill and Ossining. The pharmacies prioritize the age 65+ population.

Westchester Residents Who Work in NYC

Finally, if you work in New York City and can prove it you can check the NYC Vaccine Finder to schedule an appointment, assuming you can find one.

• Qualifying Co-morbidities: cancer, obesity, hypertension and other heart conditions, pulmonary disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, pregnancy, sickle cell disease, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and an immunocompromised state because of HIV and other causes.
• New York State receives approximately 300,000 doses per week or 1,200,000 per month. Westchester’s population is approximated 5% of the state population. Westchester County’s non-state vaccine distribution system received 3,900 doses of the vaccine last week or 15,560 on a month-adjusted basis. You can do the math from here.