MIDTOWN, Manhattan (PIX11) — Are you suffering from COVID-19 vaccine fatigue?
Health experts worry that many New Yorkers are, and it is happening just as COVID numbers are creeping back up with a new strain during the Fall surge.
On top of that, it is not that easy to find the new COVID-19 vaccine.
“Keep calling your pharmacy, your chain store, keep asking,” Dr. len Horovitz, a Lenox Hill pulmonologist, told PIX11 News. “It will appear,” he added.
Dr. Horovitz is advising his patients to look right now for the new COVID-19 vaccine and roll up their sleeves as soon as possible.
Independent pharmacies across the city have not received authorization to administer the new vaccine just yet.
Earlier this week, the CDC and FDA gave approval to the new Moderna and Pfizer BioNTech vaccine which is formulated to fight the EG5 strain that is currently dominating the U.S.
Dr. Horovitz does not advise getting the flu shot at the same time as the new COVID-19 vaccine.
“I would space them two weeks apart,” Dr. Horovitz said. “Get the flu shot now and then two weeks later, the COVID vaccine and two weeks after that for RSV.”
The third vaccine, to fight RSV, is being recommended for seniors.
It is all a bit confusing, to some New Yorkers.
“I’ll probably get it when I am at the doctor,” Jill Layden, an Upper West Side resident, told PIX11 News. “But I am not in a big rush to get it,” she added.
“It is definitely going to take up over the winter, so I hope everyone stays safe,” Cullen B, added.
A third New Yorker, Darryl Phipps, told PIX11 News, “If it’s recommended OK, I’ll get it I work with little children so it’s a good idea too,” he added.
A spokesperson for the NYC Health Department told PIX11 News: New Yorkers should continue looking on nyc.gov/vaccinefinder for convenient locations where the vaccine will be available.
It is not known the precise date for when the city will start listing appointments, but the spokesperson said it should be soon.
