PHOENIX – Maricopa County has officially moved to Phase 1B for coronavirus vaccines and a mass vaccination site was opened in Glendale on Monday, but the effort to vaccinate more Arizonans is not going smoothly.
On Monday around 6 am, Maricopa County health officials said their servers, despite being updated to handle more website traffic, could not keep up with the request. Many people said they could not access the website and register for phase 1B vaccinations because the website is not working.
⚠️ The COVID-19 vaccine page is overwhelmed by people. Please do not try to access the site until after 6:40.
– Public health (@Maricopahealth) January 11, 2021
At the same time, Arizonans began logging on to the Arizona Department of Health Services website to register for vaccination schedules at Glendale State Farm Stadium, which should be able to administer thousands of vaccines a day. once it is fully functional. However, due to mixed messages, those who were able to register to be vaccinated did not see State Farm Stadium as an option.
RELATED TO: How to register for phase 1B vaccine COVID-19 in Maricopa County
In addition, for those who can register, some may see that the fastest meetings are only weeks in the future.
ADHS clarified later Monday morning that recording will be available starting at 9 a.m. for Phase 1B and that programming hours at State Farm Stadium will be available for Tuesday, January 12 and beyond.
To clarify, register for @AZDHS The State Farm Arena website opens at 9:00 p.m .; Registration for @Maricopahealth it was opened at 6 in the morning and they encountered problems with high traffic, and the site was not available.
– AZ Department of Health (@AZDHS) January 11, 2021
Not everyone in Phase 1A has been vaccinated, so it’s important to keep in mind that those included in 1A are still at the top of the priority list and can also sign up for future meetings.
ABC15 reporters heard from viewers who expressed other concerns, including the fact that the vaccination registration site was not compatible with mobile phones or tablets, forcing the public to use a laptop or desktop computer. ADHS said the issue was resolved just before 10 a.m.
Those who can’t access a computer can register by phone, but some are already reporting long periods of phone retention, according to news partner ABC15 KTAR. Some also report “busy” tones and messages that no one is available to help over the phone.
ADHS urges those facing registration issues to keep trying, as updates are made on the site.
Despite hours of trouble launching the vaccination registration link, ADHS says 10,000 people were able to register for meetings as early as 10 a.m. Appointments for Tuesday were available starting at 10:30.
Maricopa County says appointments at distribution points are fully booked for Monday, but are working to add additional vaccination sites. For the latest information on the COVID-19 vaccine from the Maricopa county department, click here.
Information on vaccination against ADHS can be found here.