WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – Publix booked nearly 48,000 appointments Friday for people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, despite reports of the programming website not working properly.
WPTV received dozens of calls and emails from people who said the tick, which shows how many meetings remain in each Florida county, had been frozen for at least 20 minutes.
Maria Brous, Communications Director for Publix, released this statement to WPTV at 10:15 am:
“This morning we managed to schedule almost 48,000 vaccination meetings for next week. As those on the site could see, we had a short delay in the scheduling process.”
Earlier in the morning, at 7:46, Brous told our news team in an email that “the system is working. Appointments are reserved “.
Brous said the next window for booking appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine at Publix will open on Wednesday, February 10, at 7:00 p.m.
Setting up several screens to help her neighbors, Cathy Rethmeier noticed something different about the Publix COVID-19 vaccine programming site on Friday morning.
“There was a blue button that indicated, yes, I was still waiting. But I also noticed right away that the counters didn’t count back,” Rethmeier said.
And she wasn’t the only one.
Some said they were able to choose a date and time for scheduling, but then the “Book Now” tab will not work.
“We know it takes thousands of people and energy for everything to happen, we are very grateful. But there is definitely room for improvement and we are very hopeful. That is why we continue to do so,” Rethmeier said.
Publix continues to make adjustments to its booking system based on customer feedback. In an important change, the schedule button has been moved to the top of the meeting page instead of the bottom.
In addition, Publix responded on Friday to a WPTV report in which some Patients aged 65 and over claimed that they were no longer vaccinated at the grocery store because they had been infected with COVID-19, but less than 90 days had passed since their initial symptoms.
Publix released this statement to WPTV:
“The CDC guide was recently updated. We re-communicate our teams to make sure they have the latest information.
We are able to vaccinate patients who have had COVID in the last 90 days if they have not received antibody treatment. If they receive antibody treatment, they should postpone vaccination and talk to their healthcare provider. “
Under the “You know before you go” section from Publix’s COVID-19 vaccine website, the company lists the guide to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saying that “it is good for an infected person to delay the vaccine for 90 days after symptoms have resolved based on low risk reinfection during that period ”.
To book an appointment with Publix, Click here.