DC vaccine website issues frustrate residents

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DC residents had serious difficulty registering for coronavirus vaccination appointments online Thursday.

DC residents had serious difficulty registering for coronavirus vaccination appointments online Thursday.

More than 4,000 slots were supposed to open at 9 a.m. for anyone 18 and over with qualifying medical conditions, but many residents encountered roadblocks when trying to register.

Others said they were not allowed to enroll because they were under 65, even though they had pre-existing conditions.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser blamed the volume of traffic to the website.

One reader, under 65 in a priority postcode, told WTOP the situation was “absurd.”

“I saw a tweet about high traffic volume, but nothing about these eligibility issues (conditions). … Idiots, ”they said.

A screenshot of what a reader saw when he tried to refresh DC’s vaccine registration questionnaire on Thursday morning.

The reader said he hit a wall while trying to refresh the site, “but the main website still lets you click on the quiz like there are dates.”

Another reader who is also under 65 in a priority zip code said he was able to make an appointment through the DC call center at 855-363-0333 – but received the wrong address and had to find the right location via Google Maps.

Shortly after 10 a.m., the DC Department of Health tweeted that all online appointments had been made.

“We know this morning has been very frustrating for many people. We are working with Microsoft to understand why heavy traffic prevented some eligible people from passing, ”the agency tweeted.

Cielo Contreras, who said she was on DC’s newly eligible residents list, told WTOP’s Megan Cloherty that she was thrilled to be able to sign up because she is pregnant, and her doctor had had it. warned of the dangers of COVID-19 for pregnant women, but could not via the website.

She said she started refreshing the website a little before 9 a.m.

“And then the thing appeared to fill out the questionnaire. And I did a lot of refreshments, it just kept crashing, ”she says. “So I would click on something, it would say, it’s not available, I should refresh or go back. So it took… a lot of steps to fill out the form. “

Contreras called the experience frustrating because DC “didn’t flip the switch or do anything on the back of the website that allowed people in this new category to sign up.”

“Is it that hard?” She said, adding, “I think there has to be a better way to let people know, ‘OK, you didn’t get it this time.'”

The DC Council tweeted an apology to residents and said there was “no excuse for the vaccine appointment system not to allow people under the age of 65 with pre-existing medical conditions to s ” register for appointments.

Vincent Gray, a member of Ward 7 DC, criticized the botched recording on Twitter, calling it “unacceptable.”

“I am extremely concerned about the impact this has had on everyone trying to register for a vaccination appointment,” he wrote. “I spoke with Dr. (LaQuandra) Nesbitt, and she too has expressed concern for the issues the residents have been experiencing this morning.

The office of DC Ward 6 council member Charles Allen said it will “amplify all updates this afternoon ahead of tomorrow’s citywide release.”

On its coronavirus vaccine registration website, DC Health said it will “make approximately 4,350 additional appointments available” for eligible residents at 9 a.m. on Friday.

According to the site, priority postal codes are concentrated in wards 5, 7 and 8 and include the postal codes: 20422, 20011, 20017, 20018, 20002, 20001, 20019, 20020, 20032, 20593.

“Hopefully DC will correct the website restriction on people with pre-existing medical conditions by Friday morning.” Maybe DC should limit Friday to DC RESIDENTS ONLY, because today was so messed up, ”another reader wrote in an email to WTOP.



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