Orleans planning vaccine clinics next week at Ridgeway Fire Hall

GCC will host vaccine clinics in Genesee County, beginning this week

Vaccine clinics will begin this week in Genesee County at GCC in Batavia and next week in Orleans County at the Ridgeway Fire Hall.

That doesn’t mean there is an abundance of vaccine locally. Paul Pettit, the public health director for Genesee and Orleans, said supply still is far short of demand.

He said doing the clinics at a lower volume in the beginning will have the two counties prepared when the vaccine supply increases.

GCC in Batavia will host the vaccine clinics on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while Ridgeway hosts the events in Orleans on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Some of the details are still being worked out and Pettit said the local health Departments will release more information soon.

The Orleans County Health Department this week is expecting 200 doses of the vaccine, with another 100 at Orleans Community health, and additional supply at some pharmacies. Pettit said the registrations to sign up for the vaccines quickly fill up.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is trying to get more vaccines from the federal government, to then release to the regions of the state to distribute. He knows many people are frustrated by the process so far, with many people declared eligible for the vaccine, but not nearly enough is available to fill the need right now.

“We are doing the best we can with what we have been given,” Pettit told elected officials in Orleans County in a conference call this evening.

The public clinics at GCC and Ridgeway will be “vaccine pending,” Pettit said.

“If more vaccine becomes available we’ll be able to scale up,” he said.

The two counties combined this week expect to have 1,600 doses, which includes the pharmacy providers in both counties, the hospitals in both counties and both Health Departments. Some of the people vaccinated with the first dose also will soon need the second dose of the vaccine.

At this time all appointments are full, the Health Department said, but encouraged people to check in case people have canceled. People are encouraged to cancel their appointment if they are experiencing symptoms of Covid-19, the flu or a cold, and if they have been placed on mandatory quarantine because they are identified as a close contact to someone who has tested positive.

To check for vaccination clinics in Genesee and Orleans counties, click here.