Joyce Goodwin was delighted when she went online Sunday and found a pharmacy in Walgreens near her home in Oregon City had COVID-19 vaccinations available.
But when she was planning an appointment, the system would not allow her to complete the registration process.
Goodwin and other Oregonians who have been trying to sign up for COVID-19 vaccinations by Walgreens over the past few days report a bug in the system that prevented them from booking appointments.
While Walgreens has shown many available first dose appointments in the Portland metropolis, the system must register for their first and second dose appointments simultaneously. But when people go to schedule their second dose, they find nothing available.
“I was so happy when I saw that Walgreens had several pharmacies that had vaccines, but I could not plan anything through them because of the second dose problem,” Goodwin, 81, said. yesterday and today. ”
Walgreens was added last week to the list of pharmacies in Oregon that offer COVID-19 vaccines to eligible Oregonians through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, which joins Albertsons, Safeway, Costco and Health Mart. Walgreens pharmacies in Oregon received 8,190 initial doses of COVID-19 vaccine through the program last week.
But mistakes in the pharmacy’s scheduling system frustrated Oregonians who tried by Walgreens to sign up for appointments. People in other parts of the country have reported similar problems at Walgreens over the past week.
A spokesman for the Walgreens corporation apologized for the errors and said the company was working to resolve the issues.
“As we continue to expand and weigh our COVID-19 vaccination program as the available stock, customers may experience temporary problems with our vaccination scheduler, which may result in patients not being able to book an appointment,” the spokesman said in ‘ said an email. “We work to resolve issues as quickly as possible, often in just one hour.”
The bug still prevented people in the Portland subway from planning appointments early Monday afternoon. By 4 p.m., the pharmacy’s scheduling system no longer listed any appointments in Portland.
Oregonians who have managed to schedule appointments at pharmacies across the state in recent weeks have reported positive experiences after struggling to schedule appointments via the state’s vaccination schedule website at mass vaccination centers such as the Oregon Convention Center or Portland International Airport .
These issues forced the state last week to require eligible Oregonians who want to book appointments at the Oregon Convention Center to enter their names in a registry. The Oregonians will then be notified when it is their turn to make an appointment, rather than having to compete online at scheduled times each week.
But it is also not easy to make an appointment through a pharmacy. Retail pharmacies have about 100 doses available each week, and the Walgreens problem shows that website issues are not just limited to the state’s scheduling system.
Goodwin said she was waiting to get an appointment at a local pharmacy because she has mobility issues and does not feel comfortable driving to the Oregon Convention Center for a vaccine.
This left her with a string of frustrations. In addition to the issues on Walgreens’ website Sunday and Monday, Goodwin could not discuss an appointment with Albertsons, Safeway or Fred Meyer, each of whom has a very limited offer.
– Jamie Goldberg | [email protected] | @jamiebgoldberg