“ I kept trying again, and again, and again. But, it just didn’t work,” said Laura, of Buffalo.
Laura is 67 and lives in the 14222 zip code. She said she unsuccessfully tried for 45 minutes Wednesday morning to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at the Delavan Grider Community Center through the state’s “Am I Eligible” website.
The site will open March 3 to those with an appointment.
Laura said she even logged on slightly before 8 A.M. when the appointments went live without any luck.
“It’s very frustrating because having relatives who passed away from it makes you even more afraid of it.”
Laura wasn’t the only one who experienced problems. One western New Yorker we spoke to said it took about an hour to make an appointment. They tweeted— “Neither the phone or online works. Phone says too busy right now to take call and schedule vaccine, then hangs up. Online just keeps putting you in a waiting room, kicking you out, and making you wait all over again.”
One thousand can be vaccinated there per day. It’s unclear whether the state booked 7,000 appointments for all of next week, or more will be made available in the coming days.
“We continue to do everything possible to get as many New Yorkers vaccinated as quickly as possible,” D.O.H. Spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said.
Sources within the department told 7 Eyewitness News it experienced high volumes of traffic when the appointments first became available. During that time from roughly 8 to 9 A.M., patients were placed back in the waiting room to avoid losing their spot in line.
The hotline is open seven days a week from 7am - 10pm. THE NUMBER IS 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829.) There’s also a call back feature available so you don’t have to wait on hold.
