MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A message that some Minnesota people received Saturday morning, saying that the COVID-19 vaccination program was canceled, was mistakenly sent by a provider, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
The department said the “vast majority” of people who received the message, sent by Primary Bio, were sent it wrong. About 20 Minnesotaers should have received the message; have registered for a vaccination meeting, despite not being eligible to do so due to an error in the primary Bio system, according to the department.
“Our seller, Primary Bio, has taken full responsibility and apologized to the state of Minnesota and all affected Minnesota people,” a MDH statement said. “Those in Minnesota who received the message in error this morning were notified that their appointments were confirmed and that they should show up for their appointment as previously scheduled.”
Primary Bio released the following statement: “We take full responsibility for the error that occurred earlier today, which led to thousands of Minnesota residents receiving incorrect information about their vaccine appointment. I corrected that error and communicated directly to the Minnesota people who affected that their appointment is confirmed as scheduled. We apologize to the state of Minnesota and all those Minnesota people have been affected and we are taking immediate action to make sure that does not happen in the future. ”
The original message read: “MDH COVID-19 65+ vaccine pilot program, you were able to schedule a vaccine, even if you were not randomly selected. Accordingly, we regret to inform you that your appointment is not authorized and is no longer valid. As long as you pre-register for the COVID-19 vaccine pilot program, you will remain on the list for potential future opportunities. Thank you for your patience and understanding. IMPORTANT: Please do not visit any vaccine pilot locations. Walk-ins are not supported and you do not have an appointment at this time. ”
Joseph Pettini of Minneapolis was one of the people who received the error email from Primary Bio on Saturday morning. He received 15 emails with the same message around 10:45
“Honestly, I was a little hectic because it’s subsequent scheduling and it should be in a certain amount of time,” Pettini said. “I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to have to start from scratch.’ What this means?'”
After receiving the final e-mail, saying that a problem had been solved, he was very relieved.
“I understand that the state is doing everything it can, with what they have,” Pettini said.
The second dose meeting is on February 11th. His wife, who also qualifies, is still on the pre-registered waiting list.
The MDH reported that there was no indication that the message had gone unnoticed on Saturday.