Dear Neighbors and Friends,
As we near the middle of February, the monumental task of getting Westchester residents (and indeed all Americans) vaccinated is well underway. As most of you know, this roll out has not been without setbacks. The availability of the vaccines has not kept up with the expansion of eligibility for certain groups, producing understandable frustration and anxiety. News of vaccine "pop-ups" and talk of residents in neighboring states having more widespread vaccine availability have added to the sense of discouragement, as have incidents of people who seem to have circumvented the system in place.
The Federal Government determines how many vaccines each state receives. New York State, with a population of almost 20 million, has only been receiving approximately 200,000-300,000 vaccines per week for the last 9 weeks. This past week, Westchester County received just over 7000 vaccines for its population of nearly one million. As a result, supply is very limited, although we are hopeful that the State and County will receive small increases in supplies soon. We know that every person who is vaccinated is a person who likely cannot transmit the virus and this helps us all. But it is still proving to be a slow, exasperating process.
As someone said to me, if you are in an eligible group, patience and persistence are a necessity in order to get an available vaccination appointment. There seem to be several different vaccine sites, but not everyone is eligible to receive a vaccine at every site. For example, everyone can be vaccinated through the NYS-run mass testing sites: https://covid19vaccine.
Some pharmacies (certain branches of CVS and Walgreens, for example) have started receiving allocations, and independent pharmacies will continue to pop up as vaccination sites once they complete the paperwork to qualify for the Medicare reimbursements. I am told that you have to contact pharmacies individuals and continually check as appointments may pop up during the day as people don’t show up for appointments. Regarding Medicare, I have been told that if you have Medicare B or C, you will pay nothing for the vaccine. If you have Medicare A (Hospital Insurance) you may have to pay an administrative fee from the provider or pharmacy. Be sure to check with the provider or pharmacy to see if they charge this fee, and bring your Medicare card and ID to the vaccination appointment.
Vaccines are also available at other sites throughout the county that are not listed at the NYS site, like the ones noted below, but these locations must also be contacted individually.
White Plains Hospital: https://www.wphospital.org/
Northern Westchester Hospital: https://www.northwell.edu/
New York Presbyterian Hospitals (Lawrence and Hudson Valley): https://vaccinetogetherny.org/
Each week I receive notification of the number of allocations for Westchester County, and this site is the full list of the County vaccine sites receiving allocations past this week: https://www.westchestergov.
Of course, this is a constantly changing landscape in terms of allocations and eligibility, and these figures will likely evolve in the days and weeks ahead. In the meantime, we must all continue to be vigilant about maintaining COVID safety. This has been a very challenging winter, but please stay safe and well as we look forward to brighter, warmer and healthier days ahead.
Very truly yours,
Kitley S. Covill
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