BUFFALO (WBEN) - As vaccine distribution continues to present problems to federal and state officials, rural New York communities feel they're being unfairly treated in the allocation process.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 15.7% of Erie County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Of course, Erie County is one of the most populated counties in New York State, with a population of 920,000. As for some of the lesser populated counties in Western New York, the percentage of residents who've received one dose of the vaccine can be significantly less.
Cattaraugus County has a population of about 77,000 people, and 12.2% of residents have received a first dose. In Allegany County, only 10% of the county's 46,500 residents have received a first dose.
"I represent some of the most rural parts of New York State, and we have problems with broadband; we have an aging community; we have a community that has a health problem, that are poor, yet the governor does not consider that to be under-served," said State Senator George Borrello, who serves New York's 57th District, which encompasses much of the Southern Tier.
"When you look at the aging population, you look at the income levels, you look at the distances that people have to travel just to find a qualified vaccination site, then you're looking at a truly under-served community when you look at rural parts of New York State," he continued.
In Orleans County, with a population just under 41,000, only 10.5% of residents have received a first dose. When asked if rural county residents have been unfairly treated in the state's distribution plan, Nola Goodrich-Kresse, PIO for the Orleans County Health Department said, 'yes.'
"Any time (the state) is looking at getting large numbers vaccinated or providing services for them, they always go to the cities, and the rural counties are forgotten," said Goodrich-Kresse. "When you're looking at the pandemic, it makes it very difficult for people that actually want the vaccine to be able to access it without having to travel long distances or having to wait. They continue to put their health at risk because there's a vaccine out there for them and they're not able to access it."
Goodrich-Kresse also referred to the County Health Rankings & Report from 2020, and she noted that Orleans County had 13,660 people per one primary care provider.
"The services that we have in our county are extremely limited," she continued. "That it makes it very difficult for our residents to get quality care - they have to be able to travel to...Erie County or Monroe County for providers, and that makes it very challenging, especially for people with limited transportation."
