A Vaccination Appointment Maker/Whisperer In Beacon Reveals Her Secrets: Interview With Heidi Harrison

Heidi Harrison, a creative visionary best known for her work as a Youth Aid Job Coach for Dutchess County BOCES, Assistant in Beacon’s Park and Recreation Department, and Volunteer with Mutual Aid Beacon, has added another specialized skill to her resume: Vaccination Appointment Maker/Whisperer. Word on the street is that she “cracked the code” with finding people appointments, and has been clicking and booking for eligible people ever since. Since Dutchess County’s official location site, and other private sites, are not located in the New York State vaccination appointment site, volunteers like Heidi have been vital to booking people who really need the help, as well as getting the word out about opportunities.

ALBB reached out to Heidi to see if she would consider sharing her secrets, and she agreed! To help you book your vaccination appointment easier and possibly closer to your home, Heidi has divulged in great detail how she does it.

See below for her recipe, and then see double below for a list of links.

ALBB: Heidi: how are you this super sleuther?

I love research! Once a topic is of interest to me, I can’t get enough information about it. This issue happened to be one that peoples’ lives depended on, so once I realized I might be able to help, I started really digging in. I was very happy to finally be able to help others, while still self-isolating myself.

ALBB: Can we all become Super Sleuthing Vaccine Bookers like you? If so, what is your recipe?

I do believe that a lot of people could also become Super Sleuthing Vaccine Bookers, if they wanted to do so. The recipe is basically a desire to help others, a lot of patience, even more persistence, and a dash of OCD helps immensely. The people that would not be able to do this, unfortunately, are the ones that probably need it the most right now.

So many people in our senior population, are going into this battle without the proper training. My Dad for example, is 85 years old, has a flip phone, and has never touched a computer in his life. Even if I bought him a smartphone and computer today, he would not be able to navigate this system, to book himself an appointment. There are so many others like him, including entire groups of people that are disadvantaged, and don’t have access to computers and internet, that likely don’t even know that vaccines are available to them. Who is going to tell them and who is going to help them get appointments? People that are tech savvy and very familiar with computers and smartphones are having great difficulty booking themselves and their family members appointments.

ALBB: Heidi, can you tell us your secrets?

I’d be happy to share my secrets! Basically, I started by doing some research. I typed into Google “tips, tricks, and hints for booking a covid vaccine when they are all booked”

This search resulted in lots and lots of articles. One article was particularly helpful. It was a Wall Street Journal article titled, “Tips To Help Score a Covid 19 Vaccine Appointment At CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and More” That was literally all that I needed for booking on those sites. The more you use them, the more you get to know the best times to find new appointments, and what their quirks might be.

An information form used by VAAT, which is not an official booking service of the County, but is used by many and run by volunteers.

My next step was to join Facebook groups started by others looking to offer the same help. I joined Vaccine Angels, New York/Connecticut Vaccine Hunters & Angels New York / Connecticut Vaccine Hunters and Angels and NY-HV Covid-19 Vaccine Appointment Assistance (NY-HV Covid-19 VAAT) NY-HV Covid-19 Vaccine Appointment Assistance Team (NY-HV Covid-19 VAAT). (The Vaccine Appointment Assistance Team was just featured on Spectrum News, highlighting two volunteers who have helped book 250 appointments so far). I am the Beacon liaison for this group. People can fill out this form if they need help booking.

This last group was formed from the Facebook group Covid19 Dutchess County and Ulster County Resources, which I joined in the beginning of the pandemic.

These groups are filled with people looking to help others, and share information that will make this process less stressful and less frustrating. The volunteers in the group also secure appointments for those needing help. I have specific methods and processes for each individual website, which I learned either by trial and error, or by other people posting to the groups, sharing what worked well for them. Someone even went as far as to make 3 short how-to videos, showing how she books appointments for people on the New York State Site.

This was by far the most helpful post that I was lucky enough to find. It showed step by step, the madness that one must undertake, to book an appointment on that site. It really comes down to using the refresh button and clicking approximately 1 click per second for around 15 minutes. This has been successful each time I have used it. If you type into a search “Am I Eligible” you will find the New York State Site.

You answer a few easy questions, and if you qualify, it takes you to the locate providers section. You can then choose which location you want to try to book an appointment at. They are listed by closest proximity to the zip code you entered earlier. This is where it will usually say No Appointments Available.

Most people would stop there. I learned not to give up that easy. You click the refresh on the browser several times in a row, usually 2-3 minutes until it takes you to another page that will ask you to choose a time. Then you will receive a message saying: “No Time Slots Available.”

Heidi Cracks The Code

ALBB: Wouldn’t you stop there? This is like a riddle in Zelda!

It’s game on, baby! Why would you go any further? Who in their right mind would click the same button that denied them already? I never would have without watching the video I mentioned earlier. The trick here is, clicking the purple button that says NEXT until a time magically appears. It does not happen quickly. My average wait is 15 minutes at one click per second.

When the time slot appears, you have to be quick, because someone might be quicker! I’ve lost a few this way, and I literally wanted to cry. But that’s when you just press on, and keep clicking, clicking, clicking, until another one becomes available. I joked with my doctor at an appointment last week, that there might be a surge of people with carpal tunnel syndrome in the months ahead, from the repetitive clicks.

ALBB: How do you work with the Dutchess County run locations, like JC Penney?

The JC Penny is strictly a County site, which is on a lottery type system. People have to have signed up for it and hope for a call. You cannot self book that site.

I have personally signed up for notifications through the Dutchess County Website, and have not received any, yet I have booked around 26 appointments at various sites. I only found out about the alternate sites by doing my own internet searches.

ALBB: Do you think there should be 1 central booking website for all of the inventory of doses out there?

I agree 100%! There is no central system whatsoever! It’s a patchwork quilt, that was never sewn together...just random squares of fabric, all relating to each other in a big, important, life or death way, but just scattered around on the floor.

ALBB: What about the non-County and non-State locations, like pharmacies and grocery stores? Do you refresh those? If so, how?

The site that has to be refreshed like crazy is the New York State site, the “Am I Eligible” link.

I have been in touch with all of the local pharmacies:

• Rite Aid said that they don't have anything in stock as of now, but should have more in the next couple of weeks. I always call.

• Beacon Wellness (new pharmacy on Main Street near Rite Aid) is also in that same time frame.

• Sun River (formerly HRH Care on Henry Street) has a form that people can fill out online and wait/hope for a call back.

• Caremount has sent emails to people who are eligible. I received one for my mom since I have access to her patient portal. It was an email with a link and a self booking system. It stated specifically that the link was not to be shared and would not work for anyone but the recipient.

• I checked Drug World in Cold Spring, as I do along with other area pharmacies, CVS, Rite Aid, & Walgreens, every morning, and to my utter shock, I found available appointments! I was able to book 3 people without any sort of insanity. It felt really weird, and I rushed through the registration, even though I probably didn't need to...but my gut reaction to this process is stuck on HURRY UP OR YOU'LL LOST THE SPOT!

• Looks like there are new opportunities at the Fishkill Rec Center via The Medicine Shoppe in Fishkill. Click here for registration details.

• For the Pop-Up PODS that happen in Dutchess County and Orange County, like the ones that sometimes happen in Beacon and Newburgh, you need to register with Dutchess County, and then they call you when an appointment comes up. Register for Dutchess County here, and Orange County here.

ALBB: What have been your thoughts during this experience?

It shouldn’t be this hard. I understand the need to get this vaccine out as quickly as possible. I would never expect for it to be flawless or without some glitches. But sitting at my computer booking an appointment, feels like playing a slot machine, more than trying to secure a life saving vaccine. 900 clicks and you finally get an appointment feels like hitting the jackpot.

But most people aren’t winning at all. They are feeling hopeless and defeated. With each appointment I make, I am happy for that particular person, and I am grateful for being a part of what is to be the new beginning.

Governor Cuomo Continues To Skip Dutchess County As A NY State Partner Vaccination Site - Why That Matters

Dutchess County entered 2021 by opening 3 county-run vaccination centers dubbed as PODs, which is in addition to any privately run locations at pharmacies or grocery stores. The locations are at the former JC Penney at the Poughkeepsie Galleria Mall, the former CVS, 3081 Route 22, Dover, and at Dutchess County Behavioral and Community Health - Mental Health Campus.

Why JC Penney? The retailer had filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2020 due in part to the pandemic shutdown, and has since emerged with new owners, possibly saving 60,000 jobs of the 85,000 jobs lost. The space inside of the mall with plenty of parking and public transportation drop-offs was available.

The only way to know about these locations in order to make an appointment at them is to follow Dutchess County announcements and local news. Why? Because the Dutchess County locations are not included in New York State’s Vaccine Hotline or Website to book an appointment. Only sites that Governor Cuomo designates as “Partner” sites are included in that very popular, state-wide website.

Beaconites like Joe Robitaille, owner of Homespun was eligible in late February for his vaccination, and used New York State’s website to book the only appointment he could. “The staff and I were sitting here looking at the website, clicking Refresh and appointments were just going, going, going right before our eyes. Finally we just clicked on anything, and I got Plattsburgh, NY.” That location is in the northern most part of New York State, near Vermont and Canada.

In early March, a location in Binghamton opened, and he switched appointments. “I'm off to Binghamton today to get my first vaccine shot! Got my appointment switched. So excited,” he told ALBB. Joe used the New York State website, and said he wasn’t aware of JC Penney location operated by Dutchess County.

Another local Beaconite was helping her dad, age 70, book his appointment back in February. “He called the New York State hotline. He didn’t use internet—at 70, I think the phone was less stressful than Internet. He got the appointment for April in Binghamton.” But the family wasn’t satisfied. They wanted an appointment sooner, and possibly closer. “We decided he should just call every day,” the resident continued to ALBB. “One day he called and they said they couldn’t really tell him details but they’d heard that Tops in New Paltz had appointments, and he called them, and got an appointment for 3 days later! He gets his second shot this Friday!”

When ALBB asked if her dad knew about the JC Penney location, the resident answered: “I don’t think it was an option he was given.”

Dutchess County’s Vaccination Plea To New York State To Add As A State Location

The entrance to the JC Penney COVID-19 Vaccination Site, run by Dutchess County.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

On February 19, 2021, Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro wrote to Governor Cuomo, the letter of which was shared with media, which requested that the JC Penney vaccination POD site be added as an official New York State Partner vaccination site.

County Executive Molinaro stated in the letter: “I respectfully request New York State partner with Dutchess County Government to create a joint vaccination site at this current Poughkeepsie location. Due to the lack of supply given to our county, local residents must travel more than an hour to the nearest State-operated mass vaccination site, located at the Westchester County Center or SUNY Albany, and most cannot obtain an appointment in the next several months at either of those sites.”

Individuals can still get vaccinations at the JC Penney location - and any county-run location - but the option to book an appointment are not listed in the New York State website, which is what Governor Cuomo refers to daily when encouraging people to sign up for their vaccinations. Other locations are available in this region, including at pharmacies, but those are not included in the NY State appointment website.

New York State’s Incomplete Vaccination Appointment Website

Should all vaccination sites be located in a central website for New York State? Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro and the CDC believe that they should. Says Colleen Pillus, Communication Director for the County Executive Office told ALBB: “The County Executive has been openly advocating for a clear picture of where all vaccine is allocated and a centralized place to schedule appointments at any vaccine provider.”

With Governor Cuomo’s consistent display of data aggregation across multiple web pages in New York State’s COVID section of the website, as he tracks patterns of the virus to display to the public, it is not clear why the vaccine locations across the state are not included in that portal. From a website build standpoint, that build-out is not difficult using Google Map tool at the very least. Local design firms nation-wide have already built some for their communities (including my own website design firm for a company producing an antibody test to display various locations in CVS drug stores).

Additionally, when the COVID-19 tests rolled out across multiple private locations, Dutchess County was not designated as an official testing center by New York State. The omission of Dutchess County from New York State’s test center location finder website added time and confusion to the testing process.

When a person called the New York State testing hotline, as Governor Cuomo told people to do daily when he was marketing how easy it was to get tested, the closest location Dutchess County residents was the parking lot at the Bear Mountain Bridge. Despite multiple Dutchess County run testing centers in operation, like the one at Dutchess Stadium just up the road for Beaconites. ALBB reported on the confusion of testing locations and insurance early on.

“Vaccination Czar,” Impeachment Issue, and County Access To Doses

This location-with-benefits logic is now repeating itself for vaccination locations. And is part of why County Executives were so shaken up when New York State’s “Vaccination Czar,” Larry Schwartz, called County Executives across the state asking them for the support of Governor Cuomo during his current impeachment consideration, which is based in part on megalomaniac tendencies and political bullying.

Dutchess County Marcus Molinaro, who is president of the New York State County Executives Association, told NPR in a report on the multiple phonecalls: “[Molinaro] says in the eyes of these local officials, Schwartz's calls were troubling and that after receiving the calls, 3 to 4 executives contacted him or his staff to express their concern and disgust. Here is Molinaro. ’That these calls would be made at all was troubling. That they were made by the individual responsible for, really, with a great deal of discretion, distribution of vaccines was extremely disturbing to them.’”

Dutchess County Executive’s Response To Omission Of Dutchess County Vaccination Locations In NY State Website

The empty parking lot at JC Penney, the location of a Dutchess County run vaccination site that New York State continues to not grant partnership benefits to.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

Despite Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro’s repeated request to have the JC Penney POD be a “Partner” location by New York State, Governor Cuomo has not granted this designation. Though he has been adding partner locations regularly, and announced 2 in the Hudson Valley recently: one in Ulster County and in New Palz, which Governor Cuomo says, are not ready for the public yet. Dutchess County’s however, is already open and operational.

Despite New York State officials visiting Dutchess County’s JC Penney vaccination location prior to it opening and declaring it ready for scale, Governor Cuomo won’t make the partnership. "County Executive Molinaro has been advocating for the JCPenney location to be a mass vaccination site for several months,” said Colleen to ALBB. “In fact,” she continued, “as noted in his letter [to Governor Cuomo on 2/19/2021], officials from the Governor’s Office were on site at JCPenney when we first opened in January and noted how the capacity was certainly there to be expanded."

County Executive Molinaro pointed out in his 2/19/2021 letter to Governor Cuomo: “Though Dutchess County’s current 185,000-square-foot site in Poughkeepsie, inside the former JCPenney store at the Poughkeepsie Galleria, currently vaccinates fewer than 1,000 essential workers and seniors each week, due the limited number of doses we receive from New York State, our DBCH staff has the capability and space at the site to inoculate five times that number.”

Governor Cuomo Relevance To Dutchess County Executive Molinaro

Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro ran against Governor Cuomo in the last election for governor, and was defeated. Actress Cynthia Nixon from Sex and the City was also running. Governor Cuomo refers to County Executive Molinaro as “some county executive who ran against me” in a press conference delivered on February 19, 2021, the same day the letter was sent, after Governor Cuomo encouraged people to check with their counties for individual sign-up locations, emphasizing that New York State was opening state-run sites in “socially vulnerable communities.”

Governor Cuomo has been pressured by Republicans and a growing number of New York State politicians about the nursing home issue, which questions how the Governor designated nursing home deaths (if the person died at the hospital, but was a resident in a nursing home, then it did not count as a nursing home death in figures released by New York State). That questioning has erupted into a broader discussion of how Governor Cuomo works with - or doesn’t - other politicians running different parts or departments of the state, including his staff. The question of bullying and megalomaniac power tenancies have been questioned.

Governor Cuomo’s dismissive statement was made while the Governor was being questioned by the media about the nursing home issue, as he attempted to discredit critical voices. You can read the full transcript of the February 19th, 2021 press conference here. The Governor has since denied taking questions from the media during a later press conference, as the investigation into him begins, and impeachment is discussed.

“Socially Vulnerable" Communities In Poughkeepsie, Beacon and the Hudson Valley

In terms of “socially vulnerable” communities being the reason for the lack of New York State partnership with Dutchess County, there are plenty of people in Dutchess County who have lost jobs, were already in a lower income bracket, or don’t have a car.

Said County Executive Molinaro in his letter to Governor Cuomo: “[The people who book an appointment] are the lucky ones – residents who have personal transportation and can travel at a moment’s notice, should a much-coveted appointment open up for them. Residents in our underserved communities, who rely on public transportation to take them to appointments to receive this life-saving vaccination, cannot readily travel an hour or more to the State’s sites; they can, however, travel to our Poughkeepsie site, which is easily accessible by Dutchess County Public Transit.”

Public transportation from Beacon regularly circulates to the Poughkeepsie Galleria Mall, including the G-Line, which is the pretty blue bus line introduced as a partnership with Beacon, Poughkeepsie and Dutchess County last year.

How To Add Yourself To Dutchess County’s More Convenient Vaccination Location List

Dutchess County has a web page that shows what their allocation was of vaccinations for the week, as well as a signup form to sign up once, and wait to be called for an appointment at a Dutchess County location. Other locations, such as pharmacies, are listed there as well for convenience.

As for the number of allocation doses since the County Executive’s letter, Communication Director for Dutchess County Colleen Pillus confirmed to ALBB on 3/17/2021: “Vaccine doses have increased statewide (and decreased) over the past several weeks as more vaccine become available from the federal level. Overall, vaccine allotment is up from what we been receiving in Jan/Feb, but last week’s allocation was lower than the previous week’s allocation.”

Dutchess County makes weekly updates to many vaccination sites on their vaccination web page, including pharmacies and hospital facilities. Do check this page weekly if you are in pursuit of a vaccination shot for yourself or a family member, as you may find a dose at a nearby location to you in Beacon, Fishkill, or other communities.

Volunteers who are pursuing and booking vaccination appoints on behalf of those who are too challenged in technology or physical condition to do it themselves have been making a big difference to connect people with doses. Read ALBB’s interview with a Vaccination Appointment Whisperer, Heidi Harrison, to learn her tips and tricks.

Dutchess County Exec Marcus Molinaro Stops Waiting For NYS Guidance To Vaccinate 60 People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) In Day Facilities

Guidance on who can be vaccinated when and where has been extremely precise globally, nationally, and locally in the rollout of the vaccine to protect people against COVID-19. During the initial NYS Phase 1a, a set of vulnerable people were close to being eligible, but were left out, according to Dutchess County Marcus Molinaro, who implored the need to vaccinate them in a letter sent to Governor Cuomo on January 22, 2021.

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who attend “congregate care facilities” during the day, but do not stay overnight, were not included in the initial phase. Marcus Molinaro’s daughter lives on the autism spectrum, which led him to into advocacy for people with special abilities and compelled him to start ThinkDIFFERENTLY, a programmatic foundation of Dutchess County.

According to the letter sent by Molinaro to Governor Cuomo, and confirmed by Colleen Pillus, Communication Director for Dutchess County, people age 18+ who attend “congregate care facilities” by day, and do not sleep over as live-in residents, were not eligible for the vaccination, but the staff supporting them were eligible. Staff and residents at OPWDD, OMH and OASAS facilities were granted eligibility early on. Also at issue are that “these groups are eligible but they are not prioritized for supply. They are a population that cannot easily access the vaccinations the way the supply is being currently being distributed by New York State,” Colleen clarified to A Little Beacon Blog.

Said Dutchess County Executive Molinaro to Governor Cuomo in the letter, people with IDD have a hard time understanding social distancing or mask wearing. He stated: “Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, especially those who live in group homes or in congregate care settings, face an immense risk from COVID-19. These facilities continue to suffer from the ravages of this pandemic as the greatest protections we have are not always practical for many of these individuals, as some struggle to understand social distancing and have difficulty wearing masks. These are unique challenges that have contributed to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on individuals living with disabilities.”

Apparently not hearing a response from New York State (Molinaro ran against Cuomo for the Governor position in 2018 and was defeated), the County Executive took it upon himself to set aside 60 doses of the vaccine for the IDD community in congregate care facilities during the day in a “mobile pop-up POD” in New Horizons Resources in Pleasant Valley (video here).

“Without specific direction from New York State as to which providers are to prioritize vaccinating the countless residents across the state who live with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Dutchess County has taken it upon itself to inoculate such residents locally. Hospitals cannot simply be the ‘catch-all’ for eligible groups like this who fall through the state system’s cracks; it’s not practical for them to vaccinate healthcare workers and seemingly every other eligible group. Where the state has failed our special-needs community, Dutchess County has proudly stepped up to ThinkDIFFERENTLY and serve this constituency, which has been marginalized by Albany since the beginning of the pandemic.”

When asked if the Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro thought that priorities should not exist, his office answered: “Not at the moment, due to supply restrictions it remains important to prioritize those most at risk. Currently, the vaccine is first and foremost a tool to save as many lives as possible and the quicker we can vaccinate individuals the more lives we can save. Early on in the rollout, the State’s eligibility criteria were too narrow causing delays in getting shots into arms but as they opened the criteria to include, first, people over the age of 75 and, then, those over the age of 65, it became less of a problem. The issues now are supply – access to vaccine doses – and distribution – getting doses to entities that can most efficiently vaccinate eligible individuals. There is still rigidity in the State’s requirements as to which providers should be prioritizing or not prioritizing specific groups which meet the eligibility criteria. Dutchess County is focused on vaccinating as many eligible people as possible, but also focusing on our most vulnerable. That should be our shared goal -- to vaccinate as many people as quickly possible with priority given to those most at-risk. If we hold ourselves to that goal, it will be anything but divisive, it will be simple, understandable, and unifying.”

Vaccines doses continue in short supply throughout the country, and the world, While Dutchess County and other counties across the nation are set up to vaccinate many people, the doses are not there yet from the federal government and the manufacturers.

People can sign up for email updates about vaccinations from Dutchess County here.

Update 2/11/2021: In answers to reader questions on Instagram where this article was shared, Dutchess County Executive Molinaro confirmed: “Every individual secured approval from their guardian, is under the observation of their agency and the State approves of our actions.”

Beacon's Mayor Kyriacou Robo-Calls Community With Vaccine Information

Today (Tuesday, 2/9/2021), Beacon’s Mayor Lee Kyriacou sent a health message via Beacon’s robo-call system, to tell people how to get a COVID-19 vaccination near Beacon, NY. His message is below:

This is Beacon Mayor Lee Kyriacou with an update on COVID-19 vaccines.

Eligibility: Those who are currently eligible for a vaccine are: people 65 and older, frontline workers including first responders, public safety and transit workerse, educators, front-facing grocery store workers, certain funeral workers, and those working or living in homeless shelters

Everyone who is currently eligible for a vaccine will be able to get one within three to four months.

There are several vaccine distribution locations in our area. All require an appointment. Please be patient, but persistent. I will list them starting with those in Beacon.

• Sun River Health on Main Street. Visit sunriver.org or call 845 288 0850. Available wit appointment only. No walk-ins.

• Local pharmacies are vaccinating those 65 years and older. Check RiteAid.com and BeaconWellnessPharmacy.com later this month for more information. Please do not call to schedule.

• The former JC Penney in the mall and Dover High School. Visit dutchessny.gov/covidvaccine.

• The Institute for Family Health in Hyde Park, Ellenville and New Paltz. Visit institute.org

• Westchester County Center and SUNY Albany. Visit am-i-eligibile.covid19vaccine.health.ny/gov or call 1 833 697 4829

• Castle Point, for Veterans who are either 65 or older or are essential workers, call 845 838 7668.

To sign up for these robo-calls from te City, click here to get an introduction and to get started.