UMC registration for 5,000 vaccinations completed within 5 minutes

UPDATE: The University Medical Center said all its latest vaccination appointments were booked within five minutes of the online registration being offered live on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. There are currently no more places available.

ORIGINAL REPORT: EL PASO, Texas – The University Medical Center said Saturday it has now received another 5,000 doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine that will soon be distributed at a new mega-location in the El Paso County Coliseum.

Registration will open on Saturday at 12:30 at UMCelpaso.org for those in categories 1A and 1B, which includes health workers, first responders, anyone 65 or older or others with certain underlying health conditions.

The website only accepts registrations until all open appointments have been scheduled. After that point, the site will close access.

This was the third group of 5,000 doses sent to UMC to administer to the public. The last time UMC received a shipment and made online registrations, all the slots were filled within 12 minutes.

Except that UMC received 5,000 additional doses, a similar shipment would have arrived at the El Paso department. Like the UMC, the city of El Paso also offers distribution of public vaccines at a mega-site; the city’s site is close to the airport and pre-registration for appointments is available at EPCovidVaccine.com or by calling 21-COVID (212-6843).