An unauthorized link is being blamed for a number of ‘false positive’ sign-ups as New York State rolls out the COVID-19 vaccine.
There was a link circulated around social media platforms, which purposed that vaccine sites in Binghamton, Buffalo, Plattsburgh, Potsdam, Stony Brook, and Utica were taking appointments for people that otherwise were not eligible.
The problem is that it wasn’t the case at all. The sites weren’t open, or the appointments that people thought had been made did not register in the system.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office told Spectrum News that the situation is under review.
“As this pandemic has shown, equity and equal access are critical in distributing the vaccine, and to ensure these principles are followed all unauthorized appointments have been voided — we are currently contacting everyone who used the unauthorized link to inform them of the situation,” Mercy Stevens, general counsel for the Office of Information Technology told Spectrum. “We will continue to safeguard all New Yorkers’ information and ensure equal access to the vaccine for everyone eligible.”
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