Vaccine Update

Yesterday, Matt Murell, chair of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, issued a press release with this pertinent information:

COUNTY DOH CALLS TEMPORARY HALT 

TO OPEN VACCINE PODS

“In light of the fact that we are receiving so few vaccine doses, as of next week we will begin conducting closed vaccination PODs,” said Columbia County Department of Health Director Jack Mabb on Wednesday. “If our weekly allocation remains the same for now, this situation will likely continue through February.”

For instance, this week the county DOH received 200 doses of the vaccine.

The upshot of this move is that there will be no links for POD appointments on the county DOH website until the vaccine supply increases. In the meantime, said Director Mabb, “the department plans to target for PODs the population within the state-defined 1B category.”

For additional information on New York State phased vaccine distribution categories, visit: https://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/phased-distribution-vaccine

“I understand the frustration with trying to get vaccinated. With so little vaccine available, we’re already seeing a 100-vaccine POD link open on our website, then fill up within 15 minutes. We are doing the best we can with limited resources,” said Director Mabb, adding that other counties around the state have adopted the same approach in an effort to maximize their vaccine supply.

Neither Murell nor Mabb has explained how these "closed vaccination PODs" work.