Error with California vaccination website allowed ineligible Bay Area residents to sign up for vaccines

Amid the chaotic vaccine rollout in California, rumors began circulating on Monday that the Bay Area vaccination centers had extra doses that needed to be used up quickly, so everyone – not just workers health – can get vaccinated in Alameda or Santa Clara counties with a specific registration link. Some essential workers, including those in the restaurant industry, sent the same links to each other believing their time had come early.

To make an appointment for a vaccine, individuals would normally have to sign an attestation under penalty of perjury stating that they meet the criteria, such as being a medical worker. After signing up, they would be invited to make an appointment on Calvax.org, a state website. The links circulating this week allowed people to skip the attestation.

More than 100 people showed up a few days this week at vaccination sites in Santa Clara County when they were not eligible for a vaccine, according to county lawyer James Williams. Those who were not eligible were turned down.

Many more people have taken to sites in Alameda County, arriving to see large signs warning that doses were only for health workers. Public health officials said they did not know the origin of the links that allowed people to avoid testing questions. They urged anyone who signed up for an appointment via the links to cancel so that the time slot can go to a health worker.

Sandy Morse, who was fired from her date on Tuesday, said she felt bad about taking a slot that should have gone to someone else. It was difficult for her and her husband Bob to get them – they kept refreshing on the website and saw no availability. Eventually, his stepdaughter nabbed two spots for the Walruses, who are both over 75 years old. They doubled up masked, drove from Redwood City to Castro Valley and stood in line, before a worker told them the Calvax website should have noted that only health workers should register, Sandy said.

At that point, Bob said he felt he understood why the vaccine rollout in California was progressing so slowly compared to other states – and he wanted to know how that confusion could have happened.

“The method of administering vaccines is so rambling and so out of step with reality and also a deep and dark secret,” he said.

While Santa Clara County Manager Jeffrey Smith does not believe the Calvax system was hacked, he told Tuesday’s supervisors meeting that someone “had access to Calvax inappropriately.”

On Wednesday, a new line appeared at the top of Calvax’s registration page stating that vaccines are only available for those in the state’s Phase 1A, which only includes healthcare workers and care residents. long term. (Some counties vaccinate older people in the general population, but through separate websites.)

It is not known exactly how many people signed up for vaccinations this way. A spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health said the state does not track the eligibility of people who sign up for vaccine appointments.

The Walruses feared the vaccines they pledged to take would be thrown away, but Neetu Balram of the Alameda County Public Health Department said no vaccine was wasted.

Janet Levy, general manager of Oakland Hopscotch restaurant, was surprised when she received an email from her boss on Monday saying food workers could get vaccinated. But she didn’t argue – she clicked on the link and took the first available slot Tuesday at noon. Upon arrival, she was disheartened to see a sign outside saying “only health care providers”.

“I’m an essential worker and my exposure is pretty high for a lot of people,” she says. “I still work with the public and many people who refuse to wear masks.”

For Levy, the mistake shows how the state needs more support to properly distribute vaccines. Others might not be so forgiving. Jenny Schwarz, co-owner of Hopscotch and Nido’s Backyard in Oakland, said the link had “gone viral” among Bay Area restaurant workers.

“We have gone from gastronomy to fast food. It’s slow and it’s sad and depressing, ”she said. “I haven’t been able to give good news (to my staff) for so long, so when I gave this to them, they were so excited.”

Having to cancel their dates is demoralizing, Schwarz said. She fears that restaurant workers who were already skeptical about the vaccine will now be even less inclined to sign up when the time comes.

“Thinking that they can sign up and feel like it’s fraudulent, it will make them less trustworthy next time,” she says.

The downside to people is unfortunate, said Dr George Rutherford, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, but he’s not surprised there are still issues in the deployment.

“Hopefully by next week everything will be resolved,” he said.