Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming ask NY for mass vaccination clinic at GCC

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 February 2021 at 10:22 am

Leaders from 3 rural counties tell governor they have been left out with Covid vaccine

Photo by Tom Rivers: The clock leading to the entrance of GCC in Batavia is pictured with the Conable Technology Building at left in this file photo.

BATAVIA – The leaders of the three rural counties of Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming have sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, asking that the state utilize GCC’s campus in Batavia as a mass vaccination clinic for the three counties.

“These 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,” according to the letter which was signed by Rochelle Stein, Genesee County Legislative Chairwoman; Lynne Johnson, Orleans County Legislative Chairwoman; Rebecca Ryan, Wyoming County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman; Paul Pettit, Genesee Orleans County Health Departments Director; and Dr. Gregory Collins, Wyoming County Health Department Medical Director.

If properly staffed through assistance by the National Guard the officials said that the GCC clinic would have the capacity to vaccinate 2,000 people per day.

“With the three counties vulnerable and underserved populations, the county Local Health Departments also request to continue receiving allocations for their vulnerable populations locally to meet the needs of those with transportation/access issues while also supporting a larger regional clinic at GCC,” the officials wrote.

The clinic would be strategically located between Buffalo and Rochester. The site at GCC would provide closer access to a mass vaccination clinic for residents in the three rural counties, and also would draw the eastern and western portions of other contiguous counties with the college campus easily accessible off the Thruway, the officials wrote.

“Our three counties look forward to working with your office to provide this much needed and more equitable solution to meet the needs of the more rural communities,” the officials concluded in the letter to the governor.