We're Waiting

Only 79 percent of the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine that federal agencies have allocated to New York State have gotten into people’s arms. Many hospitals, pharmacies and local governments in receipt of doses have been painstakingly slow in administering their supplies, despite Governor Andrew Cuomo’s pressure to speed things up.

That other 21 percent of doses would be welcomed with open arms, both figuratively and literally, here on the South Fork, where doses are incredibly scarce.

Health care workers can obtain their vaccinations readily and locally, and rightfully so. But for the population in phase 1b — teachers, first responders, public safety and mass transit workers, and anyone age 65 and older — it’s been more than challenging to schedule a vaccine, here or anywhere else.

Lucky eligible South Fork residents have nabbed appointments as close as Riverhead, while others have made plans to travel as far as the Bronx for the vaccine, and will likely have to make another trip to get second doses. Why are residents of the East End forced to go to the vaccine, when the vaccine should be coming to them?

Never before has the South Fork been this populous in January. The pandemic had turned second homes into primary residences, and there is nary a vacant rental to be found. Population density here in early 2021 is not akin to a typical offseason — it is more than enough to justify a dedicated vaccination site, or two, and an ample allocation of doses.

East Hampton Town has the right idea, setting up a vaccination site on spec at a former school building on Stephen Hands Path. The town is filling in a gap left by both the state and Suffolk County’s vaccine distribution plan. This action demonstrates to the state that the public outcry is coupled with a willingness to do the heavy lifting necessary to efficiently distribute the vaccine. Now, all that’s needed? The vaccine itself.

This is a matter of life or death for South Fork denizens and should be treated with the appropriate urgency. So far, the vaccine hasn’t found its way east with nearly enough regularity. It’s long past time to fix that — a willing population waits, with its sleeves rolled up.