UPDATE: All vaccination appointments for clinic at GCC booked in less than 90 minutes
In what is turning out to be a good news, not-so-good news situation for citizens of Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties, Genesee Community College officially has been designated as a COVID-19 mass vaccination site, beginning this Friday, but the five-day clinic will be open to those who reside outside those counties.
In reaction to this morning’s announcement, Genesee County Manager Matt Landers is urging Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming residents to act fast by logging on to this website -- New York Covid-19 Vaccine (ny.gov).
“It was already going to be competitive because we know the demand is there for our three counties,” Landers said. “It was already going to go fast. Now, it will go even faster.”
Landers said local government leaders are “disappointed” in the decision in that they were led to believe the clinic at GCC would be only for the tri-county residents.
“I’m 100-percent saddened and want to do all I can to make sure our folks get access," he stated. "We definitely expected this to be restricted to only Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming residents. We were informed that it would be open to anyone at 9:30 on Tuesday night (after officials had commented for the press release below)."
On Feb. 22, legislative leaders and public health directors in the local tri-county area sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo urgently requesting the designation of a regional mass vaccination clinic at the GCC campus to provide the vaccine exclusively to residents of the rural counties.
The letter, in part, read that “Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming Counties have consistently been left out of the COVID-19 response with delays in testing supplies and now with very limited vaccine allocations. All three counties are medically underserved and having a regional clinic with less than a half-hour commute would benefit these communities."
Landers said the reason for getting a clinic at GCC is because the vaccination rates in the rural counties are lower.
“That was the whole point of this," he said. "This is what gave us some hope. This is what the letter was asking for. It’s unfortunate that at the last second that it’s going to be open to everyone because that isn’t going to directly improve the numbers when folks right on the border of Erie and Monroe can flood into our zone.”
Landers said the plan is to distribute 500 doses on Friday, 1,000 doses on both Saturday and Sunday, and 500 doses on both Monday and Tuesday.
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Here is the press release issued by New York State this morning:
BATAVIA, NY – Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Department of Health have agreed to host a temporary regional mass vaccination clinic at Genesee Community College (GCC) main campus center (1 College Road, Batavia) to provide the COVID-19 vaccine to rural counties.
The announcement comes after the legislative leaders and public health directors of Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming Counties sent a letter last week to the Governor urgently requesting the designation of such a clinic to serve rural populations in the region.
“We are pleased to see this allocation for the Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming County area,” stated Lynne Johnson, chairperson of the Orleans County Legislature. “Our three counties have been underserved throughout this pandemic, especially with the lower vaccine allocations, which in turn produces lower vaccination rates.”
This state-run clinic, expecting to vaccinate 3,500, is targeted to Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming County residents who are in the state eligible groupings. The state has confirmed, as of 03/02/21, the vaccine will be the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) one-dose vaccine. The clinic is located at the GCC Athletic Center where signs will guide those with appointments to the entrance. The clinic will be held starting:
- Friday, March 5th from noon to 4 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday (March 6th and 7th) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Monday and Tuesday (March 8th and 9th) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Appointments must be made via the New York State "Am-I-Eligible" webpage https://am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/ or by calling the New York State COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline at 1-833-697-4829 only.
“We are pleased to be a part of this mass vaccination clinic,” stated Rebecca Ryan, chairwoman of the Wyoming County Board of Supervisors. “This will help put a dent in our priority groups.”
“To say this COVID vaccination site is necessary is an understatement, as I speak with constituents daily who are told they have to travel hours in some cases just to get their vaccine,” said New York State Assemblyman Steve Hawley.
“I am hopeful we will see progress made toward opening this site for the convenience of all who wish to receive the vaccination in the Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming County communities. We need to do all we can to stop the spread of COVID-19 throughout New York State.”
"I am very happy that GCC will be serving as a vaccination site for Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties," said New York State Senator Edward Rath. "In the joint legislative health hearing this past Thursday, I specifically requested Commissioner Zucker establish a vaccination site at GCC.
"I am pleased that this all is happening very quickly, and we can work to get residents in our rural counties vaccinated. Thank you to our local leaders for their leadership on the issue."
“We hope this is just the beginning of our region getting an equitable share of the vaccine,” stated Rochelle Stein, chairperson of the Genesee County Legislature. “In order to continue to provide vaccine to those in rural counties, we encourage the state to continue to provide these limited mass vaccination clinics to assist our counties and get the vaccine in the arms of our residents who choose to get it.”
