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NY State Website Overwhelmed By Newly-Eligible People Seeking Vaccine
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Feb 14, 2021
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JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Feb 14, 2021
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New York state's vaccine sign-up website opened up to millions more people across the state with an underlying condition putting them at risk of severe COVID-19 on Sunday morning. But just like a month ago, the sign-up website struggled to keep up with the crush of people vying for a time-slot to get vaccinated.
At 8 a.m. the state's eligibility site opened up for those with underlying conditions, a list that includes people with cancer, moderate-to-severe asthma, diabetes, and other conditions. At first, the webpage showed blank fields for what was presumably supposed to be questions about someone's underlying conditions. For those who managed to get past the initial eligibility questions, the site's server blocked anyone from accessing appointments at various sites showing availability, like the Javits Center.
Jerry Quartley, a 56-year-old Brooklyn Heights resident with rheumatoid arthritis was among New Yorkers who got an error message on the state website on Sunday.
"I'm really not surprised that it is massively overbooked," Quartley told Gothamist. He tried pharmacy websites as well, to no avail. "Javits Center is probably the most convenient for me to get to but everything else goes out hundreds of miles."
In NYC alone, around 4.5 million are now vaccine eligible, which is about half of the city's population, according to the city health department. That includes people with underlying conditions who had been anxiously waiting for guidance on their eligibility in recent weeks as appointments were expanded to essential workers and people ages 65 and older. A Fort Greene resident with severe asthma, Peggy Krisch, got the error message for the Javits Center as well.
"Due to high volume, appointments can't be made at this time for this location. Please try again later," the message read. "Server is not currently available. Please try again after sometime."
A screenshot of error messages showing up on New York state's vaccine sign-up website on February 14th, 2021.
Via Peggy Krisch
Governor Andrew Cuomo's office did not immediately respond to questions. A state health department spokesperson, Gary Holmes, said Sunday afternoon the eligibility screening tool and scheduling site “are functioning extremely well.”
As of 1 p.m., more than 876,000 people had used the eligibility screening tool. About 350 appointments a minute were booked—more than 100,000 total.
“As expected the site is experiencing a tremendous amount of volume after appointments were opened to New Yorkers with comorbidities and underlying conditions this morning,” Holmes said. “We have been cautioning New Yorkers that demand would be high, and to help in scheduling we added online waiting rooms to each site to smooth the traffic flow. As we’ve shown in recent days, our distribution network is firing on all cylinders, and as the supply of vaccine expands we stand ready to get more shots into people’s arms.”
Holmes noted that some individuals are placed in a waiting room to schedule their appointment with a technology that Ticketmaster utilizes. If there are too many people in the scheduling system and the virtual waiting room, New Yorkers will see get a message about high volume. He urged those eligible to keep trying. Appointments are being added throughout the day.
Alexandra Zevin, who lives with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, was on hold with Health + Hospitals for 50 minutes before being told there were no appointments available through the city health department or the city hospitals.
"This patchwork system is a vast waste of time and energy," the retired teacher told Gothamist in an email. "And what if I were not retired? Would I have to be deciding whether to prep for the classes I’m teaching or navigating this system?"
Eight out of 13 state-run sites showed appointments were available as of around 1:30 p.m. Sunday, down from 11 with availability around 9:30 a.m., according to a review by Gothamist. Different eligibility groups showed up on various sign-up sites as well. The state's site included those with underlying conditions, as well as the New York City Health Department's website. But a Gothamist reporter seeking an appointment for a family member observed that the city site had no appointments. The city health department confirmed no first dose appointments are open at department sites on Sunday, but more appointments will be added as vaccine shipments arrive.
A screenshot of the NYC Health Department vaccine website on February 14th, 2021.
Gothamist
The Health + Hospitals appointment site, however, did not show these new groups. A spokesperson for the city's public hospital system, Chris Miller, said the groups would be added Monday at 12:01 a.m., the date when eligibility was previously expected to open in the city. (It is unclear why there is a discrepancy between when the exact date of eligibility began, Sunday or Monday, for the new group of people.)
The lack of a singular scheduling system has marred the rollout in New York since mid-December. Mayor Bill de Blasio has previously committed to making the city's system simpler—with "family plan" appointment options and more languages. NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi told councilmembers at a January hearing the lack of a unified healthcare system made creating a single sign-up website more challenging. At that hearing, he said a pre-registration system to alert residents when they are eligible was on the way. The status of those initiatives is unclear.
"For the number one way to schedule your appointment not to be clear, was really frustrating and anxiety-inducing," Izzie Ramirez, a freelance journalist and graduate school student, told Gothamist.
She checked the website early Sunday and found criteria fields blank for those with underlying conditions and used a different link circulating online that many on social media said they had used to bypass the eligibility app and go straight to signing up for an appointment. Some of those sites were already showing messages that no time-slots were left.
Ramirez, who has asthma, was eventually able to book an appointment for later this month after she and her boyfriend scoured the scheduling systems on two different laptops. Next, she'll have to figure out whether to sign an attestation of the condition, seek a doctor's letter, or use other medical information showing she's eligible.
City and state officials say those eligible with an underlying condition can submit a doctor's letter, medical information showing their condition, or sign a certification. A spokesperson from the governor's office said the certification is a signed attestation from the individual and noted it is a crime to file an inaccurate document like that.
Ramirez questioned how those who don't speak English or without adequate technical skills would fare.
It creates an uneven "playing field for people who really need to get these vaccines," she said.
With Jake Offenhartz, Nsikan Akpan, and Sophia Chang.
Tagged
vaccines
COVID-19
coronavirus
Sydney Pereira
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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