If downstate counties have to postpone their vaccination efforts due to thebrewing noreaster, Onondaga County is willing to take their supply. County Executive Ryan McMahon said he’s offered to take the vaccine from cancelled appointments this week and take a lower allotment in the future.
Locally, officials are keeping an eye on the weather, but McMahon does not expect it to result in any cancellations.
“We want to keep our vaccination schedule going. We’d even take redirected vaccine. We would take more this week to get that done if the state wants to do that as well. It doesn’t look like we’re going to see the type of storm that they’re seeing,” said McMahon.
Onondaga County is supposed to receive 1,200 first doses of vaccine this week, with 200 slots reserved for those with developmental disabilities. The OnList will also be utilized in this next round of vaccinations. McMahon said those who are on the OnList need to be checking their emails more than once a day for appointment updates.
“When we get 900 doses of Moderna, often we can get extra doses out of that. So if we had left over from a clinic…there’s 60 extra doses. We’re going to likely go to the OnList then to get those 60 individuals out," said McMahon. "We send out emails to you to say you’ve been awarded. We really need you to check the email more than once a day because that’s how fluid this situation is.”
The county has not yet received the vaccine shipment from the state, and McMahon said they won’t create a schedule until they have doses on hand. New appointments will open on the county websitein the coming days. In addition to coordinating first doses, the county will be administering approximately 1,000 second doses a day this week. Over 16,000 county residents have received a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
