Press release:
Genesee County today announced that COVID-19 vaccinations will be administered on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. and from 2 to 5 p.m. at Genesee Community College (1 College Road, Batavia) starting Monday, Jan. 25.
Orleans County today announced that its COVID-19 vaccinations will be administered on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. starting Tuesday, Jan. 26, at the Ridgeway Fire Hall (11392 Ridge Road, Medina).
Vaccinations at both sites will be conducted inside and are based on the availability of the vaccine.
Vaccinations for the GCC vaccine clinics are through online appointment only at: https://on.ny.gov/39CBzSZ.
Vaccinations for the Orleans County vaccine clinic are through online appointment only at: https://on.ny.gov/3qxwnHb.
People should not be calling the health departments, vaccination sites such as pharmacies or their provider to schedule a test.
The registration links will direct people to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) website specific to available appointments for that provider. If a person visits the Genesee County Department of Health Vaccine webpage (http://bit.ly/39bfElNGOHealthVaccine), clicks the Clinic Schedule button, and clicks one of the listed provider links to schedule an appointment, they will be directed to the appointment page on NYSDOH data management system for that provider’s vaccine clinic.
Those making appointments should be aware that the state appointment system has experienced technical issues due to the volume of people trying to access it for appointments.
If a person tries to schedule an appointment at a local pharmacy e.g. Tops Markets, Rite-Aid, etc., by visiting their website, whatever link you click on will direct you to the NYSDOH website for that location. Providers’ clinic schedules are subject to change based on vaccine availability.
“As we have stressed since the vaccine became available and the number of people eligible to receive the vaccine has increased significantly, we are urging people to be patient,” said Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments Director Paul Pettit.
“Everything regarding scheduling a vaccine appointment, no matter if you are trying through the county health department through a local pharmacy or for the state-run clinics. is being funneled to the state’s data management page.”
Pettit noted that at this time, there are approximately 50,000 residents in Genesee and Orleans counties eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine and approximately 1,600 doses available this week, although all appointments are full. Vaccine allocation is on a week-by-week schedule, with the possibility of no vaccine to each of the providers requesting it.
“This is resulting in people receiving the message of ‘no appointments available’ when clicking on the link and we are being told anecdotally that some people keep clicking on the link for hours at a time and getting this same message,” Pettit said.
“We don’t want to deter people for going online and trying to schedule an appointment, but we want to make them aware of what to expect because it can get frustrating very easily.”
Please continue to monitor http://bit.ly/39bfElNGOHealthVaccine and the state site (https://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/) for a list of additional clinics to receive the vaccine.
