Vaccine slots at GCC clinic go quickly

By 9:20 this morning, all 3,500 spots taken

BATAVIA – The 3,500 vaccine appointments went quickly this morning once they were made available on the state website.

The state-run website for appointments opened at 7:59 a.m. for the clinic at GCC. By 9:20, there weren’t any appointments left. There were about a dozen clinics listed with appointments on the state website. They are listed alphabetically and Batavia was second from the top, just under a clinic in Albany.

The Batavia clinic runs five days from Friday through Tuesday. It was intended to help increase the vaccination rates in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties, which are lagging behind the rates in the state and the Finger Lakes Region.

The state, however, opted not to restrict the appointments to residents of the three rural counties.

Paul Pettit, public health director in Genesee and Orleans counties, said some appointments could open up and he encouraged people to keep checking the state’s website. He said the rural counties will keep pushing for more vaccines.

“We realize this may be disappointing and frustrating for our local county residents as it is to us,” Pettit said about the appointments getting filled up so fast. “We will continue to advocate for increased vaccine allocations moving forward. Every dose of vaccine that comes to our counties are administered within the week of receipt. We will continue to call on the state to increase allocations to rural counties as our vaccination rates continue to lag in comparison to surrounding counties.”