The Great Vaccine Scavenger Hunt Continues

The Great Vaccine Scavenger Hunt Continues: Vaccine shipments over the past two weeks to Northern Westchester Hospital and other county hospitals, New York State vaccination sites and for the first time local pharmacies were a needed relief for Westchester residents. The previous week they met nothing but frustration as the New York State Vaccination website crashed after Governor Cuomo expanded Phase 1b eligibility to ages 65+.

Yours truly was one of the fortunate ones to receive their first dose at Northern Westchester hospital and we can report that vaccine administration there was spot on compared to the state’s appointment process. The hospital’s safety protocols and logistical efficiency in processing patients through the queues was reassuring. Now, however, the taps are shut again with the exception of the state-run vaccination center in Potsdam.

We are anxiously awaiting word from the Westchester County Department of Health on new allocations and will report on any news in this regard here. We will also post new information on our social media, send out alerts to all subscribers to our new What To Do Mobile App. And we will also send our a special newsletter edition. However the best way to receive alerts is to download our new Mobile App.

And download the new What To Do Mobile App.

Who got the last allocations

The last round of vaccine allocations briefly opened appointments at state run vaccination centers, including the Westchester County Center. In addition to Northern Westchester Hospital, White Plains Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Westchester Medical Center, New York Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital and New York Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital also received vaccine allocations.

The supplies also, for the first time began to reach local pharmacies. Thirty-three hundred doses were distributed to pharmacies throughout the county including one-hundred doses at each of sixteen Walgreen’s locations including Chappaqua. Finally, a Stop n’ Shop supermarket in Port Chester received a one-hundred dose allocation.

Keep Checking for Appointments Here

In the meantime, just keep checking the New York State site, the NWH site,  and check the New York State hotline for cancellations: 833-NYS-4-VAX. 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.

Vaccine Eligibility Kicked in Yesterday for People with Co-Morbidities

As we announced last week, New York State residents of any age with co-morbidities became eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine on Sunday, February 15. Over ten million New Yorkers are now eligible to receive the vaccine. One one-million New Yorkers have now received both doses of the vaccine.

New York residents with qualifying health conditions will have to present a Doctor’s letter, signed certification or “medical information evidencing comorbidity” to receive the vaccine. Here is a list of the qualifying health conditions:

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 Positivity Rate Drops Below Four Percent

New York’s 7-day average COVID Positivity Test Rate fell to 3.9% last week. It was the thirty-sixth consecutive day that this metric decreased after establishing a fall/winter peak of 8.4% on January 5. 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%. New York’s Mid-Hudson Region, which includes Westchester County, had a Positive Test Rate of 4.5% , Westchester’ rate was 4.3%.

The states highest rate was on Long Island at 4.6% and New York city’s rate was 4.4%. The remaining seven upstate regions had an average rate of 2.37% with New York’s Southern Tier coming in at .9%, Central New York at 1.7% and the Capital Region at 2.0%.

Nationally, the 7-day rolling average positive test rate dropped to 5.5% last 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.