NUMC nearly canceled 2,200 vaccinations due to vaccine shortage
Dr. Anthony Boutin of Nassau University Medical Center. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Nassau University Medical Center nearly had to cancel 2,200 appointments due to a shortage of the coronavirus vaccine, officials said.
The appointments had been made through Feb. 5, officials said at a meeting Thursday night.
"We were on the brink of having to cancel those 2,200 appointments, but through the efforts of the County Executive [Laura Curran] and her staff, we were able to get some additional vaccine from the county to help us through … ," NuHealth chairman Robert Detor said. The state also provided additional vaccines, Detor said.
If those appointments had been canceled, those people would "have gone to the back of the line," Detor said.
The state is receiving 300,000 doses of the vaccine every week, although more than 7 million New Yorkers are eligible for inoculations, according to the state.
Dr. Anthony Boutin, chief executive and president of Nassau University Medical Center, said only 11% of total doses went to hospitals this week.
"We’re exactly like everybody else in terms of scrambling to find doses," Boutin said. "We don’t know what we’re going to get from week to week."
Boutin said in the next week or two, hospital officials will partner with Nassau County to offer vaccinations in communities such as Freeport and Uniondale.
Health officials will visit community centers and churches, Boutin said.
"We’re going to partner with the county and do this," he said.
Scott Eidler covers Nassau County government and politics for Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.
