By Dr. Arnab Datta
Posted on April 2, 2021
A lot of people have the same concern while trying to get a Covid Vaccine. Where do I get one? If you have not yet received the coronavirus vaccine, here are a few ways you can receive it:
This likely requires a personal conversation with the PMD office, pharmacy, or urgent Care center – so speak with them first.
There are several websites online providing real-time information on vaccines and how to get an appointment. One such website is the VaccineSpotter. This is a tool to help you track down COVID-19 vaccine appointment openings at your state’s pharmacies, updated by the minute. One can find vaccines based on doses (whether both or second), vaccine type (Pfizer, Moderna, J&J), and pharmacy.
https://www.vaccinespotter.org/
Another two websites specifically for New York are TurboVax and VaccineFinder NYC.
TurboVax finds appointments from government-run vaccine sites in the NYC area. Follow their Twitter (@turbovax) to be instantly notified when appointments open up. Appointments are published to this page in real-time.
https://www.turbovax.info/
VaccineFinder NYC helps you find government-run mass vaccination sites as well as pharmacies in the NYC area.
https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov/
Dr. B is an online vaccine standby list. Users enter their name, contact information, and other details related to their vaccination priority ranking, like their occupation and medical risk factors. If a vaccine provider partnering with Dr. B has an extra dose, the platform sends a text message to nearby users based on their prioritization as set by their state or other jurisdiction. Users then have a limited window of time to claim that dose and get to the provider for their shot.
https://hidrb.com/
Once you understand the eligibility criteria for your state, you can use the help of the above websites to book an appointment for your vaccination.
There are facilities to schedule appointments through phone, available to people who do not have access to the internet. One can call the following number to schedule an appointment in New York.
Hotline: 833-697-4829
If you are of a certain age demographic then it might be your time to receive the coronavirus vaccine. If you are not, then you might be able to receive one of the leftover coronavirus vaccines at the end of the business day at popular pharmacy chains such as Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy, Rite Aid, etc. However, not all pharmacies do this because most of them are advised to keep a list of standby eligible individuals in case they have additional doses – so please check with them first.
Most locally-owned pharmacies have not yet received approval for administering Vaccines.
Click the link below to see the list of participating pharmacies
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/retail-pharmacy-program/participating-pharmacies.html
There are people showing up at vaccine sites such as pharmacies and mass vaccination sites at closing time. The hope is that when vaccine sites close for the night, they won’t want to throw away leftover doses and will hand them out to people who are there at the right moment. City and state officials acknowledge that vaccination sites may have extra doses at the end of the day that they have to use, in order to avoid them going bad.
But it’s not something you should count on.
All providers must keep a daily list of “stand by” eligible individuals to be notified for vaccine administration on short notice. As soon as providers are aware that there are more doses than people to be vaccinated, “standby” eligible individuals should be called, or other steps must be taken to bring additional eligible recipients to the facility or clinic before the acceptable use period expires.
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommended who should be vaccinated first.
Phase 1a – (17.6 million)
Healthcare personnel and residents of long term care facilities should be offered the first doses of COVID-19 Vaccine (17.6 million)
Phase 1b – (49 million)
-Frontline essential workers
-People aged 75 years and older
Phase 1c – (129 million)
-People aged 65-74 years
-People aged 16-64 years with an underlying medical condition
-Other essential workers
To check if you are eligible click
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccine-eligibility.page
Check the link below to see the list of underlying health conditions of eligible candidates above the age of 16
https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/files/ComordbititiesCOVID19.pdf
Ten states will open eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines to all adults from the last week of March 2021. Kansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas will remove vaccine restrictions for those 16 and older Monday (March 29, 2021). Minnesota will follow on Tuesday (March 30, 2021); Indiana and South Carolina on Wednesday (March 31, 2021); and Connecticut on Thursday (April 1, 2021).
New York is making anyone age 30 and older eligible Tuesday (March 30, 2021), and from April 6, 2021 all residents 16 and older will be allowed to get the vaccine.
Currently, the following groups are getting vaccinated in New York.
New Yorkers aged 30-plus, immunocompromised residents age 16 or older, frontline essential workers, including teachers, public works employees, social service and child service caseworkers, government inspectors, sanitation workers, nonprofit and election workers, and others (Phase 1B)
Residents and staff of nursing homes, long-term care and skilled nursing facilities, and high-risk health care workers (Phase 1A)
https://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/phased-distribution-vaccine#phase-1a—phase-1b
For more details on booking an appointment for Covid-19 vaccine click link below
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccines.page
COVID-19 vaccination providers cannot:
Regardless of whether you have health insurance or not, the COVID-19 vaccine will be free for all Americans, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The government organization also said it plans to make sure the providers can get reimbursed for any FDA-approved coronavirus treatments you’re charged for.
But they can seek appropriate reimbursement from the recipient’s plan or seek reimbursement for uninsured vaccine recipients from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s COVID-19 Uninsured Program.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/keythingstoknow.html
New York Governor, Mr. Andrew Cuomo said in a press briefing there was no reason to worry about that. Even if you are delayed in receiving a second-round injection, there does not appear to be any harm associated with a minor delay.
