John Lindsay, born in 1946 and who has lived in Medicine Hat since 2007, is the first person Wednesday to get the COVID-19 vaccine locally.--SUBMITTED PHOTO ALBERTA HEALTH SERVICES
So many people tried calling 811 or accessing the website Wednesday to get an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination, the system initially became overwhelmed.
Some 230,000 people born in 1946 or earlier are now eligible to be immunized at 58 sites across the province. Appointments are being offered through an online portal and the 811 Health Link phone line.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro said the website was temporarily overwhelmed when more than 150,000 people tried to get access to it. By mid-afternoon, 25,000 appointments had been booked.
He said he understands “nerves are worn raw.”
“Vaccines are our ticket out of the pandemic,” he said. “So any delay in booking an appointment is yet another difficulty and another frustration for folks. I’m disappointed.”
Additional measures were put in place and the system can now handle about 5,000 bookings per hour, he said.
“We have added additional staff to HealthLink and have 170 phone lines available to help Albertans make appointments,” Shandro Tweeted.
AHS had pointed out that the volume of calls on the first day would be significant and asked people to be patient and try again on subsequent days.
In Medicine Hat John Lindsay, born in 1946, was the first person locally on Wednesday to be given the vaccine.
Starting Wednesday all seniors in Alberta born in 1946 or earlier could begin booking an appointment for a first and a second vaccine dose.
“Having more vaccine arriving in our province means we can continue protecting our most vulnerable citizens, … starting with those who are most at risk of severe outcomes,” said Shandro in a press release.
Anyone 75 years or older living in a congregate setting doesn’t need to make an appointment. AHS is making arrangements to provide vaccinations in each facility.
“In sites where eligible seniors interact with residents younger than age 75, health officials will offer the vaccine to everyone living in the facility,” an Alberta Health press release on Wednesday stated.
Shandro also announced Wednesday afternoon that pharmacists will begin offering the vaccine, but this is not yet available in Medicine Hat.
“Starting Feb. 24, Albertans aged 75 and older will be able to book their vaccination appointment at more than 100 participating community pharmacies in Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary. Appointments will start the first week of March. As more vaccine arrives, more participating pharmacies will begin to offer the vaccine.”
The number of pharmacies is also limited due to strict storage and handling requirements for the vaccine. As more vaccine becomes available, additional pharmacies will be able to participate in other communities.
Police services in Edmonton and Calgary had to urge people not to call 911 about vaccinations.
Coding workarounds to stop website glitches were posted on the Twitter accounts of scientists Kyle and Kory Mathewson, which brought many frustrated Albertans success.
Lynn Burrough and her brother started trying to book an appointment for their 86-year-old mother first thing in the morning.
After eight hours, Burrough finally clinched one thanks to the Mathewsons’ strategy.
“On the online portal, it was just a constant stream of error messages: ‘This site can’t be reached. This site took too long to respond. Temporarily unavailable,”‘ she said from St. Albert.
“The site’s just obviously not set up to handle the volume of traffic it’s receiving.”
Burrough said her mother is “extremely fragile” and lives in an independent living facility with the help of home care and family. She said a solution could have been for vaccines to be offered in such residences.
She also suggested the vaccine could be offered to smaller age cohorts at a time, instead of having such a big group clamouring for appointments at once.
“I think Alberta bit off more than they could chew,” she said. “It’s obviously not working.”
— with files from The Canadian Press
Website: https://www.alberta.ca/covid19-vaccine.aspx
Telephone: 811
