Raleigh, NC – A coronavirus vaccination registration site launched by Wake County on Tuesday morning quickly collapsed under the passion of people trying to access it.
The site and a telephone registration line were opened at 8:30 a.m. for people age 65 and older to join a vaccination waiting list. A few minutes later, people started reporting problems to WRAL News.
One person said that the phone number returned a message saying that the line is disconnected, and dozens of other people failed to load the web tool.
Wake County spokeswoman Stacy Beard said hundreds of thousands of people visited the site in a matter of seconds, causing it to collapse.
“Pure volume is huge,” Beard said.
Coronavirus vaccinations in NC
Bill Greeves, the county’s chief intelligence and innovation officer, apologized for the rocky launch during a Tuesday afternoon meeting of the Wake County Board of Commissioners. To cope with the volume of calls, he said, the county is expanding the hotline from 100 phones to 1,000.
At this time, any caller over 100 receives a busy signal. By expanding to 1,000 phone lines, people will be put on hold until an agent can reach them, Greeves said. The county is adding agents to answer the calls, but it could take several days, he said.
“This is a matter of supply and demand,” said Commissioner Matt Calabria, noting that the county, like most places nationwide, simply does not have enough vaccine to circulate. “We are working with the state as best we can, but in the end, the state is facing its own problems of lack.”
According to state officials, 458,914 people in North Carolina have received at least one dose of vaccine to date, which is about 4.4 percent of the state’s population.
Despite busy telephones and the collapsed site, the county enrolled 23,000 people by mid-afternoon, including hundreds who are not yet eligible for vaccination according to state guidelines, officials said.
Some people just bypassed the system – and the waiting list – and showed up at the offices of the health department in Wake County, where they set fire immediately without an appointment.
“We were trying to get into the site – a lot of websites – trying to get the shot, and my daughter called and said I was shooting here [and] to go and try, because a friend of hers had gotten the fire, “said Chris Anderson, who was vaccinated with her husband, Tom.” That’s how I got here. We went down and we were lucky to get the fire. “
“It was wonderful. It was very smooth,” said Virginia Michaud, who was vaccinated with her husband, Richard. “They took our names, sent us on the line and shot us. We were maybe 15 minutes, maybe 20 minutes and it was fabulous.”
Beard said no one without an appointment will be accepted for vaccinations starting Wednesday.
Other vaccination options are available for residents who cannot enter the Wake County system:
- UNC Health has 17 clinics open throughout the region
- Duke Health also has a number of sites open and can put people on a waiting list
Wake County leaders have created a waiting list system so people don’t have to line up or line up in vehicles to get a vaccine. Instead, once people join the waiting list, they will receive a call when a meeting with the vaccine is available.
“We did everything we could to create a system that was easy to use and hassle-free,” Calabria said.
If you qualify for a vaccine, you can register for the waiting list by calling 919-250-1515 or visiting wakegov.com/vaccine.
Callers will be asked about eligibility if they have a primary care physician and for their name, phone number and email address. These will then be added to the waiting list.
“This is not a first come, first served system. We give priority to those who need it most. If you are 75 years of age or older, we give you priority. We also give priority to people who were in [Phase] Qualification 1A “, said Calabria.
Phase 1A included healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients and residents and staff of long-term care institutions. North Carolina has recently redefined its vaccination priorities and eliminated the name Phase 1A.
In addition to age, the risk of contracting the virus will be used to determine where someone ends up on the waiting list.
As the county receives doses, those on the waiting list will be notified by phone, email or text message and will then have the opportunity to schedule a meeting, either by phone or online.
According to the county’s website, the wait could be “a few weeks to months before being contacted for an appointment.”