BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Dr. Jennifer Walsh and seven other physicians are being dubbed as the vaccine ninjas because for the past 7 weeks, they’ve booked more than 4000 vaccine appointment for Western New Yorkers.
"We escalated to a point where we were feeling overwhelmed," Walsh said. So, she’s offering up her tips and tricks on how to get a COVID vaccine appointment to the general public.
“Whats the old saying? Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime," she said.
Walsh’s number one tip to anyone searching for COVID vaccine appointments is: do not pay attention to the 'no appointments available' message.
“There will be appointments if you stay on it long enough,” she said.
Instead, she says to refresh the page at the top and bottom of the hour.
“So if you refresh right around the top of the hour and at the 30 minute mark, somewhere around there, you’re probably gonna see more appointments," she said.
Walsh suggests using the New York State website to find an appointment.
“And there is a tab on that that says 'Am I eligible.' That brings you to a page that lists all the locations in Western New York in order from distance to your zip code.”
CVS, Tops, and Walgreens also list vaccine appointments on their websites.
“So my recommendation is open all those tabs on your computer. Open the state site, open all of those different pharmacies, and be ready to kind of look and refresh those often,” she said.
Walsh says it may take you a few hours to find available appointments, but when spots open there are usually a handful of them.
“You might be able to get yourself scheduled. Your husband scheduled. So it definitely comes in surges."
For more information on how to book an appointment, check out Walsh's step-by-step video on Youtube.
