Metro Health, WellMed to Reopen COVID-19 Vaccination Registry, Receives 9,000 Doses Each

SAN ANTONIO The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District and WellMed each received another 9,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Metro Health, which received a shipment of the Pfizer vaccine, will begin booking appointments for the Alamodome next Friday.

To avoid the overwhelming rush of residents wanting to forgo the first series of Alamodome appointments, the city of San Antonio will make appointments available on an ongoing basis.

Friday, the appointments will be Monday for about 2,000 slots. On Saturday, the city makes 2,000 slots available for Tuesday, and so on. The registration system will continue to reopen as appointments are available due to cancellations.

“With more regular registration opportunities, we hope to spread the demand and give more suitable residents more chances to make an appointment for the vaccine,” said Dr. Colleen Bridger, assistant city manager, said. ‘The vaccine remains scarce, so be patient. We expect the vaccine supply to improve over the next few weeks. ”

Appointments for the Alamodome can be made by visiting covid19.sanantonio.gov/vaccine. Residents with internet access must use the website to log in.

People without internet access should dial 311 and select option 8 to book an appointment. If you get a busy signal, it means all callers are taking other calls and callers should try again.

WellMed received 9,000 doses of Moderna vaccine for distribution next week. The additional doses were made available by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

From Saturday 16 January, those eligible to receive a vaccine can call the toll-free number, 833-968-1745, to make an appointment daily from 08:00 to 20:00 until all appointments have been filled.

You must make an appointment to get the vaccine, as boarding is not accepted.

When you make a call, you may have trouble flooding the phone lines with people who want to make an appointment.

According to WellMed, the hotline has received more than 7.9 million calls since January 9th.

Callers are encouraged to keep calling back and if phone lines get overwhelmed, you will hear one of two messages:

• One a cell phone: “The line you are trying to reach is out of order.”

• On a landline: ‘All circles are busy. Try your call later. ‘

WellMed also states that if you are cut off after the recording greeting, it means all operators are making calls.

Those currently eligible to receive a vaccine are healthcare professionals, anyone 65 and older, and adults 18 and older with chronic health conditions.

The clinics that administer the vaccinations are the Elvira Cisneros Senior Community Activity Center at 517 SW Military Drive and the Alicia Trevino Lopez Senior One-Stop Center at 8353 Culebra Road.

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