Prognosis
NYC’s Complex and Confusing Vaccine Sign-Up Baffles the Elderly
- Seniors set 3 a.m. alarms to beat site crashes. Kids step in
- Frustrated people without appointments get turned away
A nurse prepares a dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine in the Bronx, New York on Jan. 10.
Photographer: Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Millions of New York City’s elderly residents and essential workers became eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine Monday. Many were swiftly foiled by a daunting array of technical problems and website glitches.
“There’s got to be a better way,” said Brian Cohen, who works for a New York nonprofit and spent more than an hour trying to make an appointment for his parents, teachers who live on Staten Island. “This is a national emergency, we should be in crisis mode. So why does it seem like New York is playing catch-up?”