Onondaga County residents encounter difficulties in vaccine registration

The Daily Orange is a nonprofit newsroom that receives no funding from Syracuse University. Consider donating today to support our mission.

UPDATED: Feb. 20, 2021 at 9:47 p.m.

Mary Kay O’Brien has been trying to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment for weeks.

O’Brien, like many other New York state residents, is eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine. But now, she won’t be able to receive one until mid-March.

“It is very hard to sign up on a Samsung smartphone. And the phone line kept just ringing,” said O’Brien, a resident of Onondaga County who has multiple cardiovascular conditions.

New York state is currently vaccinating residents who are eligible under the first and second vaccine rollout phases. Health care workers, first responders, residents 65 years old and older and some educators are all currently eligible to be vaccinated. Individuals with underlying health conditions became eligible to receive the vaccine on Monday.

Neither the Onondaga County Executive Office nor the Onondaga County Department of Health responded to a request for comment about vaccine distribution.

But some Onondaga County residents said they’ve been facing issues signing up for and accessing the vaccine.

More stories about the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Onondaga County:

• Here’s who’s eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in New York, and how to get one
• Some SU instructors eligible for COVID-19 vaccine as state alters guidelines
• Upstate begins distributing COVID-19 vaccine to Syracuse residents

Anne-Margaret Childress, a resident who’s eligible to receive the vaccine, said she tried repeatedly to schedule an appointment in January but had difficulty with the health department’s website.

“At first, there was an open appointment on Jan. 30, but when I tried to get it, the registration wouldn’t go through,” Childress said. “Now, there are no appointments available on the county website.”

Joyce Placito, who was hoping to sign her mother up to receive a vaccine, had to use two computer browsers and his cell phone before securing an appointment.

“It’s like playing the lottery,” resident Kathy Speed said.

Even when residents were able to sign up for a time to get vaccinated, some still face challenges physically accessing the vaccine.

“(I) will be making a six-hour round trip drive, for both the first and second dose, because Potsdam was the only location even scheduling appointments,” said Pamela Teeter, a county resident who’s also eligible to receive the vaccine.

As of Monday, only three of the state’s vaccine distribution sites had availability before April 16. Eligible residents can make appointments at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, the SUNY Potsdam Field House in Potsdam and the Plattsburgh International Airport in Plattsburgh.

The state’s other nine vaccination sites have no appointments available before April 16.

Nearly 105,398 people in central New York have received the vaccine.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, a statement was misattributed to a spokesperson. The Daily Orange regrets this error.