Department of Health Testing Messaging System for Vaccine Waiting List – Memphis Local, Sports, Business & Food News



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As of this week, Shelby County will receive 11,000 to 12,000 doses of vaccine per week from the state, nearing its goal of vaccinating 3,500 to 5,000 people per day.

The Department of Health is now doing a fraction of that. On a good day, such as Saturday, January 23, it rose to nearly 1,200 at the Pipkin Building as the numbers increased.

<strong> Alisa haushalter </strong>“src =” https://thememphian.blob.core.windows.net/sized/46928_440 “/><figcaption>
<p><strong>Housekeeper Alisa</strong></p>
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<p>The Appling Cove site, which will be open four days this week for the second doses, is expected to operate about 1,200 per day, according to manager Alisa Haushalter.</p>
<p>It is not known how many employees hospitals vaccinate each day, and with the Veterans Administration giving out vaccines and federal contracts with Walgreens and CVS stepping up vaccinations at nursing homes, the numbers will rise rapidly.  But there is currently no way to account for federal and local efforts, she said, leaving big questions about how many people get vaccinated, including in nursing homes.</p>
<p>“We know that pharmacies work with nursing homes, but we don’t have the capacity to know exactly how many vaccines they have been given, at least not at the present time, and nursing homes that they visited, ”she said.</p>
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<strong> Representative of the United States </strong> <br /> <strong>  Steve cohen </strong>“src =” https://thememphian.blob.core.windows.net/sized/46927_440 “/><figcaption>
<p><strong>US Rep.</strong><br /><strong>Steve cohen</strong></p>
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<p>In a letter of Monday, Jan.25, U.S. Representative Steve Cohen accused Gov. Bill Lee of the amount of vaccine Shelby County receives from the state, telling him the residents of Shelby County have done what was done. had told them, acting in “good faith” throughout the pandemic despite the state’s reluctance to issue statewide guidelines on masking and other precautions.</p>
<p>“Yet recent press reports indicate the county is last in vaccination rates,” Cohen wrote.  “These reports contradict the policy announced by your administration to give inner city neighborhoods and rural areas an additional 5% increase in vaccine allocations.”</p>
<p>Shelby County schools are expected to resume in-person lessons on February 8, but under the current allowance teachers cannot expect to be vaccinated until March, the Shelby County mayor said on Monday, Lee Harris.</p>
<p>Even though the county has had many partners ready to help it vaccinate, “we can’t turn the light on some of these types of parts and do the mass vaccination of teachers without the vaccine,” he said. .</p>
<h3><strong>Stand in line</strong></h3>
<p>To improve access and fairness for people who receive the vaccine, the county has been testing for weeks Vax Queue, a computer messaging system that allows people to register online for the vaccine and receive an SMS, call a landline phone or an e-mail on site.  are available doses, including when the condition unexpectedly adds more doses a week or when people do not show up for appointments. </p>
<p>Based on the registration questionnaire, the county will know both how close and how fast a person is to a test site, as well as the person’s age and job. , so that the Ministry of Health can quickly put these people online.</p>
<p>“Sometimes we may find out in the middle of the day because of the weather or some other event that we will have additional vaccines and therefore, for those who are not able to access a site quickly enough, we will be in able to identify those people and make sure we provide them with notice, ”said Danielle Inez, Shelby County Government chief of staff.</p>
<p>People who say they can arrive within an hour will receive four hours’ notice and the location of the vaccination site in the text message or phone call.</p>
<p>The request can also be sorted by zip code, she said, so the health department can see where the need is and schedule clinics accordingly.</p>
<p>The system is expected to be commissioned this week.  Registration for Vax Queue will be done through Shelby.community.</p>
<p>Currently, the additional supply is being made known through word of mouth, which has created access issues.</p>
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Landers Center becomes COVID-19 vaccination site


“People just have to hope that they know or know someone who will contact them and let them know when more vaccines are available,” Inez said. “We’re trying to make this process fairer so that anyone who wants to be informed can sign up to receive this information.”

For now, the program allows people to go to the back of the line and wait their turn. Future iterations of Vax Queue will allow them to book dates, including second dates by the time they get their first photo.

On Monday, that would have eased a lot of anxiety for those 75 and over and hundreds of sandwich generation children caring for elderly parents.

Early in the day, a certain desperation reigned as hundreds of seniors who received their first doses between December 28 and January 3 had their first encounter with SignUpGenius, a registration portal created over 10 years helping churches and other groups organize. potlucks and volunteers.

Now is the way to book COVID appointments online. When the Department of Health released the links at 8 a.m. on Monday, thousands of people were in their homes, hovering over their keyboards.


Locations, registration link released for second doses


Other legions were waiting for the Department of Health to text them the link. When the texts did not arrive, it sparked a new wave of angst. Hundreds more rushed for help via the hotline – (901) 222-SHOT (7468) – where callers were unable to pass or were receiving busy signals for hours.

“It was crazy,” said Marilyn Hergenrader. “I’m in a Facebook group with all kinds of people my age who have parents who are 75 and over. None of our parents are tech savvy; some do not have the Internet. We let them know, worried whether it is first come, first served or difficult.

“There you go, it was difficult,” she said shortly after 1 p.m. when her mother was finally registered.


McGowen on COVID vaccine: ‘Send us as much as you can’


After numerous attempts to use what she said were non-working links on the Department of Health website, Hergenrader typed the address into his browser and got the listing at Germantown Baptist, the location on more practical for her mother, to realize that she needed a second shot before February 2, when it opened.

“It is very frustrating. I got tons of phone calls this morning from other people like me who need to help their parents. You worry: won’t there be enough? Will they fill up fast and you will miss your chance for your mom to get it?

“The more they give partial and incomplete information, the more confidence you lack, you are going to get a place,” she said.

For her, it was an important misstep to say that the times and locations for the second doses would be released on Thursday, January 21 and not produce them.

Jim Dixon signed up to receive a text message from the Department of Health instructing him how to sign up for his second dose.

When that didn’t happen when the links went public on Monday, he wondered what was wrong.

“I finally got a text, it was good,” he says. “But I expected them to burn all of these at 8 am so people weren’t worried.”

He was able to make an appointment on SignUpGenius after a few tries, and now feels comfortable with the rest.

“I realize this is the first time for the health department and the first time for everyone,” Dixon said. “It seems there is so much uncertainty on the part of the Department of Health. When we asked a doctor there if we were going to have our second injection, she was adamant. “You’ll get a second chance, but we don’t know when because we don’t know availability or inventory. “

The state is currently negotiating with major retailers, including Kroger, Walgreens and CVS, to expand vaccine distribution.

“I would say it’s not that far in the future,” Haushalter said. “The state is really dependent on increasing supply at the federal level, which would allow some of the plans to be moved statewide.”

By next week, the Department of Health plans to announce a vaccination post in Whitehaven. He’s also looking for locations off Sam Cooper Blvd and in Frayser.

Starting this week, it will be offering vaccines to people aged 60 and over, who are already clients receiving other services at the Department of Health offices at 1020 S. Bellevue. Other people in their 60s have not yet been vaccinated.

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