Mishap leaves Long Island vaccine recipients in limbo

At least 80 New Yorkers are being asked to get their first doses of the COVID vaccine again after the shots were stored at the wrong temperature at the drive-thru vaccination site at Jones Beach, and hundreds of others who were vaccinated that day are trying to make sure they're in the clear.

Charon Heller says she hasn’t heard from the governor’s office after a promise was apparently made to assure some 1,300 people the vaccine they received back on February 15 at Jones Beach was effective.

"The whole process has been a disaster," Heller said. "I would like someone to take my patient ID number and verify my vaccination lot and let me know."

Charon’s stress stems from the state’s realization earlier this week that 81 of the more than thousand people vaccinated that day were given an ineffective dose. A staffer transporting syringes to tents where vaccines are administered deviated from protocol by adding a hand warmer to a cooler carrying syringes which led the closely regulated vaccines to exceed the proper temperatures. The State Department of Health determined the group of people impacted should be revaccinated and they’ve since been notified, but others including Charon are still looking for confirmation their shots weren’t compromised.

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"Do I know if I missed a call or email from them? I don’t. And I’m uncomfortable not knowing," she said.

"I’m sad we lost 81 doses at a time like now," said Dr. Eric Cioe-Peñ, who chalks the loss up to human error. "The worst-case scenario is the vaccine was completely ineffective when it was given because it was stored improperly and we have to repeat the dose. The best-case scenario is it was viable and we’re being cautious giving a repeat dose."

According to the state, more than 3 million doses have been administered statewide including tens of thousands at Jones Beach without issue.