Photo by Anthony Dolce Jamestown Community College is pictured Friday morning during a COVID-19 vaccination clinic. A state Senator wants to see a clinic be established in every county by the state Health Department.

State Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-Kingston, wants to see the state Health Department locate a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in every county.

Hinchey introduced S.5398 in the state Senate on Wednesday. Counties would be allowed to choose not to participate in a state-run clinic. Hinchey’s legislation also would require the state Health Department to establish an enrollment portal so residents can be notified when they are eligible for a vaccine and the location of vaccination sites closest to them.

“As more COVID-19 vaccines become available and are regularly being delivered to New York state, it is imperative that access to vaccines be expanded with conscious effort to include our more underserved areas and rural communities,” Hinchey said. “We have to ensure that every New Yorker who wants a vaccine can get a vaccine without having to travel multiple hours away from home.”

By mid-day Thursday, appointments were no longer available for a mass vaccination taking place Friday through Tuesday at the Jamestown Community College campus in Olean. According to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, about 3,500 doses of the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine will be administered at the Olean site, one of three to open Friday across New York.

The site was first noted Wednesday in a news release by Rep. Tom Reed, R-Corning, who has been pushing for a wider availability of the vaccine to eligible residents, including front line workers those over the age of 65 and with pre-existing conditions.

Two additional COVID vaccinations clinics announced Thursday by the Chautauqua County Department of Health also filled in minutes. One will take place Friday at the JCC phys-ed complex for area residents over the age of 65. The other at the State University at Fredonia will be held Monday at the Steele Hall ice rink for residents over 65, those with qualifying health conditions and for essential workers in phase 1b.

As of press time there were still appointments available at the Plattsburgh International Airport in Plattsburgh; the SUNY Potsdam field house in Potsdam; and two clinics at the State Fair Expo Center in Syracuse.

According to the state Health Department, 15.5% of the population within Chautauqua County has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. In Cattaraugus County, 13.3% has received at least one shot; and in Allegany County, 10.5% — the lowest state rate.

Statewide, Cuomo said 16% of residents have received at least one dose. In the last 24 hours, 139,823 first and second doses have been administered.

“We have seen the efficiency with which the state-run vaccination sites have operated, however, those sites tend to be clustered in more highly dense, urban areas and are often difficult or impossible for people living in rural areas, especially our seniors, to get to,” Hinchey wrote in her legislative justification. “We are at a crucial moment in this pandemic where we must make it as easy as possible for people to get vaccinated. This requires that the state Department of Health use its resources to ensure every county has access to a state run site, if they would like one, so that we can get everyone across the State of New York vaccinated in a timely manner in order to safely get us out of this pandemic, keep people healthy, and reopen the economy.”