Syracuse, N.Y. – Counties and pharmacies are increasingly offering Covid-19 vaccines to people as young as 18 who aren’t eligible under the state’s regulations.
The state Department of Health this week issued new guidance requiring vaccine providers to give extra doses to any adults rather than throwing out doses at the end of the day. Every clinic must keep a waiting list of people to be called in case it appears there will be too many opened vials for the number of appointments scheduled.
“If no eligible individuals are able to be vaccinated, vaccinate any consenting adult,” the new rules say. “This exception is ONLY for the purpose of ensuring vaccine is not wasted and must be reported to NYSDOH.”
Under the state’s eligibility criteria, Covid-19 vaccines are restricted to those 50 or older, people living in certain group settings, anyone with specific underlying medical conditions, and workers whose jobs put them at greater risk of contracting the novel coronavirus.
Healthy adults who don’t meet the professional or medical criteria can’t book appointments through the regular online or phone systems. They can now, however, add their name to a waiting list and get called, generally the same day or the day before, to come fill an empty slot.
Madison County on Wednesday opened its waiting list to people 18 or older. Oneida County also allows anyone 18 and up to register. Onondaga County today dropped its minimum age for extra doses to 30.
Madison County spokeswoman Samantha Field said the county’s three vaccine clinics often have no-shows – people who get sick or have something come up, for example – so clinic workers call people from the wait list throughout the day. Those people are given appointments for their second doses before they leave, Field said.
“We’re only calling if we have an extra doses or we have doses that are available after we have vaccinated those who are currently eligible,” Field said. “We have yet to waste a dose and we don’t plan to waste any doses.”
Pharmacies also have waiting lists, and appointments are often made the same day someone calls or signs up. Sue Little, of Liverpool, called the Walgreens on West Onondaga Street in Syracuse a couple weeks ago to see if her husband, who didn’t yet qualify under the state guidelines, could get the shot.
“They said, come in at 2:45 that day,” Little said. “He went, he got the Pfizer vaccine, and they set up his second appointment.”
Little spread the word to friends and family, and 25 to 30 of them have gotten vaccines the same way, often the same day or within a day of getting on the waiting list. She said, though, that pharmacies were hit-or-miss: Some told her they wouldn’t give shots to anyone who didn’t meet the eligibility requirements.
A state health department spokeswoman said there was “no data readily available” to show how many people had gotten vaccines through waiting lists in Central New York.
Clinics also have to carefully count how many shots they have and make sure they’re all used. Each Moderna vaccine vial contains 10 doses; Pfizer vials holds six doses each. Once the vials are open and the vaccine is in the syringe, shots have to be given quickly. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines must be administered within six hours; Johnson & Johnson, two hours.
To get the extra doses at pharmacies, you’ll have to call each store to get on its individual list. Here are the links to add your name to waiting lists in nearby counties:
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