One health official said the lack of centralized registration systems to discuss vaccine retrenchments has led to ‘chaos and confusion’ in some cases, as several websites administer the vaccine “on different schedules, with different registration portals and platforms”.
COVID-19 vaccinations are gradually increasing in the DC region, but so is frustration over the appointment.
Just over 1.5 million people in DC, Maryland and Virginia have been shot in the arm since COVID-19 vaccine doses provided by the federal government first appeared late last year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
But millions more are eligible.
However, extremely limited supply is just one problem, said Montgomery County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles, who appeared before members of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government on Wednesday afternoon.
Gayles, who in his appearance before the regional body was representative of the province’s health officials, said that the lack of central registration systems to discuss appointments for vaccines has in some cases led to ‘chaos and confusion’, as several websites administer the vaccine ‘on schedules, with different registration portals and platforms. ”
In all three jurisdictions, hospitals and retail pharmacies, such as Giant and CVS, are provided with vaccine doses to provide to the public. But that means residents often have to monitor multiple sites, sometimes hours a day, to make an appointment – and the different online systems do not talk to each other, Gayles said.
“The states have a registration system that is different from the registration system, in some cases with hospitals, that is different from the registration system of pharmacies … It is difficult to track one person through a system,” Gayles said.
In Maryland, officials have defended the decentralized system of vaccine distribution as ‘agile’ and a way to ensure that there is no single point of failure if a website expires or is overrun.
But the plethora of online sign-ups has led to frustration in the region.
In Virginia, officials this week conceded that launching a partnership with CVS ‘was not an ideal rollout’ after an online sign-up site, which was supposed to be reserved for people pre-registered with local health departments, instead of the general public.
More Coronavirus News
Looking for more information? DC, Maryland and Virginia publish more data every day. Visit their official sites here: Virginia | Maryland | DC
David Snyder, a member of the Falls Church City Council, said the frustration of residents waiting to be vaccinated revolves around one question: What is fair?
‘If you’re 65 and unable to get the vaccine, you think it’s not fair. “If you live in a vulnerable community and are an essential worker and you can not get the vaccine, you think it is not fair,” he said.
Snyder urged local health officials to be specific about the amount of doses they need so that local officials can better advocate for it.
Gayles acknowledged that the distribution of the vaccine is a ‘numbers game’ and that the numbers do not match at the moment. ‘
In Montgomery County, about 60,000 doses of vaccine have been distributed among provincial residents so far, but there are five times as many people – 300,000 residents – who could receive the shots.
Given the limited federal offering, the allocation of doses between local health departments and private providers, such as retail pharmacies, is also a zero-sum game, Gayles said.
“Right now, in a limited amount, all the doses coming to Safeway, Giant, Rite Aid, CVS, independent residences, nursing homes, health departments, hospitals, are coming from one pool,” Gayles said. “And if it’s a fixed pool, you pull doses from one other platform when you move doses to one place, and that’s create a kind of competition that we do not want.”
Montgomery County CEO Marc Elrich said the federal government needs to make clear what the priorities should be.
Montgomery County and the state of Maryland have prioritized health workers first, and residents 75 years and older are under Phase 1a and 1b of the vaccination plan. ‘Before we got halfway through the group, they said we prioritize 1c’, which includes people 65-74.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said both the outgoing Trump administration and the current Biden administration have pushed the states to be more eligible, though the number of doses has not increased.
Elrich said Wednesday: “We need the federal government to reaffirm the priorities of vaccine distribution,” which means making sure enough doses are provided to cover the entire population that is prioritized at any given time.
“If you want to bring order back: Let people know who gets vaccinated (and) when they get vaccinated, so people can look at the progress we’re making, and find out when it’s going to be their turn,” Elrich said. “But it’s chaos right now.”