Nassau’s Coronavirus Vaccine Scheduling Halted Pending Shipment

MINEOLA, NY — Nassau County has stopped scheduling appointments to distribute the Coronavirus vaccine until officials receive a shipment that could be delayed by bad weather conditions across the United States.

“There could be an issue with the weather that has gripped the nation and the supply of vaccines might be a few days late for this next coming week,” County Executive Laura Curran said in an interview on Friday. “We are watching that very carefully, and we will not make any appointments until it arrives to us.”

Curran explained that there could be a delay in a shipment of vaccines, which are allocated by the federal government to New York State, which then distributes to the county’s Department of Health. County officials have not been scheduling appointments because they do not have the vaccines “in hand” yet, she said.

“We don’t want to add to people’s frustration by making appointments before we have the actual vaccine in hand,” she said.

The county experienced additional problems this week as the weather threatened to disrupt vaccine distribution on Thursday and Friday, but officials postponed appointments and those doses will be administered on Monday, she said. Over 1,300 appointments were postponed between the county’s sites at Nassau Community College in Garden City and the Yes We Can Community Center in Westbury, Curran’s office said.

In the meantime, she said the county’s Department of Health’s vaccination sites are not “wasting any time” and will resume administering second doses of the vaccine on Saturday because there is an “allocated supply.”

Curran said she has become frustrated with the situation, but she understands the supply chain, which needs to be “ramped up.” However, she said that all indications are that the supply will increase, and new vaccines hitting the market will also help improve vaccine availability.