Day 1 of the COVID-19 vaccination in Broward County is less than smooth

DAVIE, Fla. – Do not bother to call the Florida Department of Health in Broward County to make an appointment if you are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. The word from the Department of Health is that you need to make the appointment online.

This is a difficult thing, as the site was down more often than it worked. Many people have said that they have been trying to get an appointment for weeks.

[RELATED: Get the details on Broward County locations: Vista View Park, Davie; Tradewinds Park, Coconut Creek, and, on Tuesday, Markham Park, Sunrise. The website address: https://browardcovidvaccine.com/ NOTE: As of 8 p.m. Sunday, the website was still not working. “We sincerely apologize. This site has been taken down for maintenance in order to serve you better. Thank You.”]

On day 1 of the vaccination for people over 65 and older, things were less than smooth at Vista View Park, one of the two sites that opened Sunday. The other was Tradewinds Park at Coconut Creek.

Hundreds of people did show up at Vista View Park and get the vaccine, while others were turned down because they did not have an appointment, or if they were caught in the clutter of the website crash.

There was a short window on Sunday morning where the site was working, but it crashed shortly thereafter, despite the fact that FDOH sent out a release that the site was up and running again.

At Vista View Park, a row of cars stretched through the park most of the day and down a side street. The COVID-19 vaccination site opened at 8 a.m. and would be open Sunday at 4 p.m.

Jonathan Tabachnikoff, a health worker, accompanied his 74-year-old mother who made an appointment made online.

‘The line was around the corner and it took us an hour just to get to the entrance to hear that there was a fault in the computer, but if we were to stay in order, we’re welcome and it would still be a few hours, ”Tabachnikoff said.

The two struggled to find an appointment for her until a place opened online this morning.

Others who showed up today also hoped for the best after the site repeatedly crashed, even in the middle of the appointment.

Richard Mure waited in his car, hoping he would get a vaccine when he got to the front of the line.

“The site kept crashing, so we tried to log in again, but it said, ‘You can not log in again, you’re already registered by appointment. I hope that their technology is in the right way and that they are available to find my name there, ”said Mure.

Information from the Florida Department of Health reads:

If you have previously registered, you should have received a confirmation email. Please check your spam or junk mail. For all future appointments, a confirmation email will be sent within 48 hours of registration.

If you try to register and find that appointments are not available, you should visit them regularly as we are increasing the number of vaccination sites for the elderly in Broward County in the coming weeks.

Vaccinations are available free of charge, by appointment only. Appointments for transit vaccinations can be made at https://browardcovidvaccine.com. Appointments cannot be made by telephone at this time.

Individuals receiving a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will automatically receive an appointment for the second dose 21 days later.

In general, the deployment of vaccines here and throughout the country has been rocky. The head of the department overseeing the program appears in the local Sunday news program ‘This Week in South Florida’ and explains the problems.

“It’s hard to do long-term planning if you only watch 7 days when the vaccine arrives,” said Jared Moskowitz, director of the Florida Emergency Management Division. “There is again a lot of hesitation with presenters on the second shot, because we do not look closely when the second shot arrives and although the first delivery of the second shot has arrived.”

Moskowitz said his department will monitor the vaccine’s rollout and all the problems and will assess the needs as the week goes on. For people who got a chance today, they got an appointment to return for the second shot since it is the Pfizer vaccine with two shots distributed.

The coronavirus test site at Holiday Park in Broward County is in the midst of the transition to a vaccine administration site.

According to the city of Fort Lauderdale, he is working with the neighboring cities of Oakland Park, Pompano Beach and Wilton Manors to establish a COVID-19 vaccination site.

Once underway, it will be managed by the Florida Department of Health.

(Below is the fact sheet recipients before receiving the Pfizer vaccination.)