New York State's online vaccine scheduling tool saw a "tremendous increase" in traffic Sunday as more people became eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine.
More than 500,000 people had used the "Am I Eligible" tool by 9 a.m. Sunday, and more than 100,000 appointments had been booked by noon, according to the state Health Department.
The state increased the number of those eligible for the vaccine to include those with comorbidities, such as cancer, liver disease and heart conditions. People with certain underlying health conditions could start making appointments Sunday morning, and state officials have been warning for days that the process would not be smooth.
Health Department spokesman Gary Holmes said vaccinations were being booked at an average rate of 350 appointments per minute.
"As expected, the site is experiencing a tremendous increase in volume after appointments were opened to New Yorkers with comorbidities and underlying conditions this morning," Holmes said in an email. "We have been warning New Yorkers this would happen for the last week."
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To help mitigate the issues, Holmes said that the state added an online "waiting room" and is releasing new appointments on a rolling basis.
The number of people who can schedule appointments at one time at each site is limited to balance the load on the system. When that number is reached, people go into a waiting room and are admitted to the scheduling system on a first-come, first-served basis. If the scheduling room and the waiting room are full, a message appears that states, "Due to high volume, appointments can't be made at this time for this location. Please try again later."
"As we've shown in recent days, our distribution network is firing on all cylinders, and as the supply of vaccine expands we stand ready to get more shots into people’s arms,” Holmes said.
While more New Yorkers are eligible for vaccines, hospitalizations and the Covid-19 positivity rate continue to decline.
On Sunday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the statewide positivity rate Saturday was 3.54%. The seven-day average positivity rate was 3.83%, the lowest it has been since Nov. 29. The number of patients hospitalized was down 29% from the post holiday peak, he said.
Western New York's seven-day positivity rate was 3.62%. For the state's reporting purposes, the Western New York region includes Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.
There were 107 deaths in New York State on Saturday, including seven in Erie County, two in Niagara and one in Cattaraugus.
