A virtual gap in a Michigan vaccination system could allow thousands of people to cut the ropes and book appointments.
Beaumont Health, the largest healthcare system in Michigan, said Monday that an online user is finding a way to bypass the state’s priority criteria for vaccine groups to book an appointment.
The user exploited a vulnerability in his Epic scheduling tool – an electronic medical record system – before sharing the unauthorized path publicly, the healthcare provider said in a statement.
It has enabled more than 2,700 people to circumvent and ‘align’ current Michigan vaccine mandates.
The mandatory vaccination guidelines of Michigan explain that by 2021, the state aims to vaccinate 70 percent of adults 16 years of age or older, or about 5.6 million people for COVID-19. But with limited supplies, Michigan has jeopardized the allocation of vaccines to humans. of serious COVID disease or those that ensure the continued functioning of the health care system and essential services.
Jeff Kowalsky / AFP via Getty Images
Efforts are mounting in southeastern Michigan as Wayne County receives nearly 8,400 doses of the vaccine this week – according to WXYZ, nearly double its shipping. The broadcaster also reported that many people discussing the appointments might have been unaware of an unauthorized route.
This comes as President Joe Biden’s government set the goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in the first 100 days.
Beaumont Health said it was canceling all unauthorized appointments through the back door after the IT team tracked down and shut down the unusual online activity on Saturday.
It added that people who made their appointment in this way will be notified of the cancellation via the email address they provided during the booking process.
“These appointments violate the ethical distribution framework that Beaumont has created based on the mandatory vaccination guidelines of the State of Michigan,” said Hans Keil, senior vice president and chief information officer at Beaumont Health.
“We deplore the fact that 2,700 people in our community have been the victims of this unfortunate incident. We remain committed to vaccinating as many people as possible who meet state guidelines. We also represent the Michigan Hospital Association and other Michigan health systems informed of the issue. “
The IT firm Epic also issued a statement saying, ‘We are working with Beaumont to address this situation, but it will not interfere with those who are currently eligible to schedule an appointment and receive a vaccine. not.
It added that sharing this information does not endanger anyone’s medical or hospital records.
“Since the U.S. health care system is rapidly reaching and exceeding the Biden government’s goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in the first 100 days, Epic is working with hundreds of health care systems while setting up and running mass vaccination centers across the country.”
Beaumont said it will continue to send e-mail invitations to people who meet the state’s criteria for planning their COVID-19 vaccine, adding that the technical hiccup will not interrupt the ongoing vaccinations. It also said that anyone who has scheduled his or her appointment for vaccination through Beaumont’s standard process will not be affected by this issue.
Michigan is not the only state that has seen problems with people cutting the vaccine drive.
Crowds of people took the opportunity to get vaccinations early in Austin, Texas, where the deployment was apparently hit by confusion. On Jan. 2, the Austin Regional Clinic held a “mass vaccination event” where they treated more than 900 people with jabs, even though they were not in the most vulnerable groups, according to KVUE.
An ARC spokesman said in a statement: “We recognize the need to refine our process to ensure the vaccination of prominent individuals.”