Dozens of people turned away from NJ COVID vaccination site after planning website glitch



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A glitch on the hospital’s website over the weekend resulted in dozens of people being turned away from a coronavirus vaccination site in Bergen County on Monday, officials said.

A “disruption in the link” of the COVID-19 vaccine registration site at Holy Name Medical Center allowed people to do most of the registration process on Sunday – even though appointments had already been booked, according to Teaneck Township Director Dean Kazinci.

“There were people who reached a stage in the registration process that was almost complete,” Kazinci said Tuesday. “They thought it was done, but they had no confirmation.”

Kazinci said the township has received 570 doses of the state’s Pfizer vaccine and has opened an equal number of vaccination appointments at the Richard Rodda Community Center on Colonial Court.

“There were 570 doses available on Sunday and we had 570 online appointments,” Kazinci said.

But the website – run by Holy Name Hospital – continued to allow people to nearly complete registration, even after the community center was booked and no appointments were available for Monday, has Kazinci said.

Those who thought they registered online took screenshots of their registration process and came to the community center on Monday hoping to get the shot.

This resulted in the dismissal of around 25 to 50 people, Kazinci said. “They did not have confirmation of their appointment,” Kazinci said. “We didn’t have the doses to give them.”

“It was the first time that we were open and doing this (administering the vaccine),” Kazinci said.

“It’s no different than when another website has a problem or goes down. It’s no different from the fact that the Department of Labor has a problem, no different from the Motor Vehicle Department which has a problem, ”he said. “We’re just asking people to be a little patient with us.”

Kazinci said the IT techs at Holy Name fixed the website issue on Sunday night and hoped to be up and running again later this week. The community center was closed on Tuesday as officials waited for more doses of the vaccine.

Holy Name expects to receive two trays of vaccine equivalent to 2,000 doses on Tuesday. Kazinci said they plan to schedule more Wednesday through Friday dates at the community center. The COVID-19 vaccine will be administered from around 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to the township director.

If the doses arrive as expected, Kazinci said he will alert the public through the hospital’s website and Nixle that they can start signing up for the vaccine.

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Thank you for relying on us to provide journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Anthony G. Attrino can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com is Facebook.



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