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Raleigh, North Carolina – A coronavirus vaccination registration website that Wake County launched on Tuesday morning quickly crashed under the crush of people trying to access it.
At 8:30 a.m., a phone line and website was launched allowing Wake County residents 65 and older to join a waiting list for vaccinations. A few minutes later, people started reporting issues to WRAL News.
Coronavirus Vaccinations in North Carolina
One person said the phone number was broadcasting a message that the line was disconnected and dozens more couldn’t load the web tool.
Wake County spokeswoman Stacy Beard said hundreds of thousands of people visited the website within seconds of each other, causing it to crash.
“The volume is immense,” Beard said.
Despite the problems, she said the county had registered nearly 8,900 people as of 11:30 am About 7,850 were people 65 years of age or older, and another 636 were health workers. Some 400 people who are not yet eligible for vaccination according to state guidelines have also signed up.
Other vaccination options are available for residents who cannot access the Wake County system:
- UNC Health has 17 clinics open in the region
- Duke Health also has a number of open sites and may put people on a waitlist.
Wake County officials created the waiting list system so people didn’t have to queue for vaccinations. Instead, once people get on the waiting list, they’ll get a call when an appointment for a vaccine becomes available.
“We have done our best to create a system that will be user-friendly and transparent,” said Wake County Commissioner Matt Calabria.
If you are eligible for a vaccine, you can join the waitlist by calling 919-250-1515 or visiting wakegov.com/vaccine.
Callers will be asked about eligibility, if they have a primary care physician, and their name, phone number and email address. They will then be added to the waiting list.
“It’s not a first come, first served system. We prioritize those who need it most. If you’re 75 and over, we put you first. We also prioritize those who need it most. were in the [Phase] 1A qualifying, ”Calabria said.
Phase 1A included healthcare workers treating patients with COVID-19 and residents and staff of long-term care facilities. North Carolina recently reworked its immunization priority list and removed the Phase 1A designation.
As the county receives doses, those on the waitlist will be notified by phone, email or text, and then they will have the option to make an appointment, either by phone or online.
“We worked with a private company to help us absorb a lot of the call traffic,” Calabria said. “We’re doing our best to manage the capacity through these public-private partnerships to manage call traffic. We will see [Tuesday] how things are going, but we are optimistic and prepared as we can be. “
Officials hope to avoid problems reported at vaccination sites in other counties.
“We want to avoid what we have seen in other places with long queues around buildings and created risks, especially for the elderly,” he said.
Calabria said now was not the time to sign up for residents of Wake County who were not in the two categories eligible for the wait list. Officials said they already anticipate high call volume and online applications.
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