Hundreds of people lined up at the Yes We Can Community Center in Westbury to get their coronavirus vaccines, but the demand for the shot seems to be outpacing the supply.
Eileen Leahy, 88, of Valley Stream, is one of the many people who waited at the Westbury center after she says her appointment at a Nassau County hospital was suddenly canceled
"I'm kind of resigned and accepting whatever is to be," Leahy says. "I am disappointed because my daughters are so worried about me. I can't understand how they did all of this without counting how many people were coming to South Nassau and didn't have enough shots to give."
Leahy says her daughter, who works as a teacher, also had her South Nassau appointment canceled.
Seaford day care worker and type 1 diabetic Christine Paige says she was turned away by hospital staff as well. "I showed them my ticket, and they asked if I was an employee or a family member of an employee of the hospital, and I said no...and they said that my appointment was canceled," she says.
Nassau Health Commissioner Dr. Lawrence Eisenstein vaccinated residents at the Yes We Can Community Center on Saturday. He would not comment specifically about South Nassau because the hospital runs its own vaccination program, but he did say there are not enough doses for everyone.
“I don't know what happened with South Nassau, but I ask everybody to be patient," he says. "The demand is incredible right now. Keep trying, be patient."
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says more than 7 million people statewide are eligible to receive the vaccine and the state’s allocation from the federal government is around 300,000 doses per week.
The governor says next week’s allocation was cut to 250,000 doses as many Long Island residents are trying unsuccessfully to make vaccination appointments.
News 12 reached out to Mount Sinai South Nassau who provided a statement:
"Unfortunately, due to sudden changes in vaccine supply, we
were forced to cancel some of our existing public vaccination appointments
for Friday, January 15th. All patients impacted were notified via email
and text messages. Patients whose appointments were canceled will receive first
priority once we receive more vaccine. Upon delivery of additional vaccine, we
also will reopen vaccination appointments for other eligible patients. We
regret any inconvenience this may have caused."