The coronavirus vaccine registration site in New York State on Sunday struggled with long waiting times and technological problems as the slots opened up to people with certain underlying conditions.
Many users reported the issues on social media on Sunday morning when a mass of people flooded the “Am I eligible” tool through the Department of Health. The issues seem to ease as the day progresses.
“The good news: The NY State website has been updated with the underlying conditions for vaccination and new appointments have been added,” tweeted Councilor Mark Levine, who chairs the council’s health committee.
“The bad news: the site is extremely glossy and is collapsing due to volume,” Levine wrote.
“Not a good start to this critical new phase.”
A DOH spokesman maintained that the agency’s screening tool and scheduling website was functioning ‘very well’, with an average of 350 appointments per minute from Sunday afternoon.
As of 1 p.m., more than 876,000 people had used the ‘Am I Eligible Tool’, with more than 100,000 appointments, the agency said.
“As expected, the site is experiencing a tremendous amount of volume after the deals opened to New Yorkers this morning with comorbidities and underlying conditions,” DOH spokesman Gary Holmes said in a statement.
But the agency conceded that the number of people who can plan appointments in one place at a time is limited to balance the tax on the system caused by the increased demand.
Once that number is reached, users are sent to “online waiting rooms” that keep their location in line, before being admitted to the scheduling system on a first-and-first basis.
When the planning system and waiting room are full, the DOH urges people to return later and continue to book for a while as new appointments are introduced throughout the day.
Some users have reported waiting times of between 20 and 40 minutes or other errors.
“The NY website is a disaster,” one person said commented on Twitter. “I pushed through all the time by logging in and then stomped off after I confirmed on.”
Another wrote: “Waited for an hour in ‘virtual line @ and’ got no appointments available ‘.”
‘This is BULLSHIT! The state had months to get it together. I tried all day! (since before 08:00), ” said one user. “It’s not cute and not a joke. Get it right! ”
Others have encouraged and suggested using a Chrome browser instead of Safari.
‘I got a vaccine for my mother who has the underlying conditions. The site is messy, but with patience I hope people can get their appointments too! ” tweeted someone.
Another said: “I had to wait 25 minutes in line with my browser, but finally got an appointment.”
Even at the best of times, New Yorkers have long taken the state and city’s Byzantine network of sign-up pages to take a chance.
Governor Andrew Cuomo had earlier announced that New Yorkers with certain underlying conditions would be eligible for the vaccine from February 15.
The state’s screening tool and scheduling site launched a day early to enable people to start searching and booking their appointments.
New appointments will be released on an ongoing basis in the coming weeks, the state said.
From next week, local health departments will start receiving vaccines for people with illnesses.
People must prove that they are eligible with the help of a doctor’s letter, medical information that entails that it is put together or a signed certification.
The list of conditions for admission is:
- Cancer (currently or under remission, including 9/11 related cancers)
- Chronic kidney disease
- Lung disease, including but not limited to COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), asthma (moderate to severe), pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis and 9/11-related lung diseases
- Intellectual and developmental disabilities, including Down syndrome
- Heart conditions, including but not limited to heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, or hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Immuno-compromised state (weakened immune system) including but not limited to solid organ transplantation or blood or bone marrow transplantation, immune deficiency, HIV, use of corticosteroids, use of other immunosuppressive drugs, or other causes
- Severe obesity (BMI> or = 40 kg / m2), obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg / m2 or higher, but <40 kg / m2)
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease or Thalassemia
- Type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus
- Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
- Neurological conditions including but not limited to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia
- Liver disease