Health

As eligibility for the Covid-19 vaccines expands in New York, so too are the locations closer to home where people can get their shots. Last week, East Hampton Town administered first or second doses to nearly 2,000 people at its site, and still more were able to get vaccinated at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons in Southampton. In addition, the state is opening a mass vaccination site at the Stony Brook Southampton college campus.

As federal supplies of Covid-19 vaccines begin to tick upward, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has once again expanded eligibility for the vaccines, announcing on Tuesday that people ages 60 and over will be able to get shots starting Wednesday morning.

After much lobbying by local officials, a state-run site for Covid vaccinations will soon be opening on the campus of Stony Brook Southampton.

East Hampton Town and Stony Brook Medicine are offering Covid vaccines today, Friday, March 5, for those 65 years or older at the East Hampton Town clinic on Stephen Hand's Path. Several hundred appointments were still available as of Friday morning.

It was one of those things you think could happen anywhere but in your own town, but Covid-19 proved it would not discriminate, starting with its official arrival here in March 2020, when the county's first Covid-19 patient was admitted to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital.

From the parking lot in the mall to the emergency room in the hospital, community members are showing how kindness — any time, any place, to anyone — can be a real shot in the arm during the pandemic.

It's hard to find any sector of society that wasn't impacted by Covid-19 in the year since the county's first virus case was reported, and first-person experiences and expert opinions, documented here, suggest that the pandemic may leave its mark for years to come.

Armed with a computer, an internet connection, and a humanitarian streak, East End residents who have become adept at using New York State's website for booking Covid-19 vaccine appointments are helping others get their shots.

All too often, it seems, the story of Covid-19 is told through statistics and trends. Beyond those numbers are hundreds of thousands of human beings — real people — who lost their lives to the pandemic across the world. As told to The Star by their families, here are some of their stories from the East End.

There are few, if any, absolutes in medicine. For example, the medical establishment spent years telling people that low-fat diets would lower their risk of dying, particularly by lowering high cholesterol and decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

For those who need help coping with pandemic-related losses and other issues, a number of organizations and medical facilities continue to offer resources. Here are a few.

East Hampton Town on Tuesday formally launched a vaccine "hub" website for town residents to sign up to receive Covid-19 vaccine appointments. It is accessible at ehtownvaccine.org.