Long Island residents searching for coronavirus vaccine appointments have another site to check obsessively: vaccinefinder.org, which was created more than a decade ago to help people track the distribution of vaccines.
The site, run by Boston Children’s Hospital, added COVID-19 vaccine distribution to its site this week, said Kara Sewalk, program manager at the hospital.
Sewalk said the site collects information from pharmacy chains and states — although most states, including New York, have yet to provide the site with large-scale vaccine location information.
“New York has provided a few locations,” she said.
The state Department of Health didn’t respond to an email requesting comment.
The large pharmacy chains participate in an automated daily data feed, Sewalk said.
“That feed is reporting all their locations, nationally,” Sewalk said. “That’s why you see all the chain locations on Long Island.”
The site allows anyone to search for COVID-19 vaccine availability via zip code.
With David Reich-Hale
