Vaccination Frustration; Pinellas Has To Do Better, Say Seniors

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — More technical issues with the Pinellas County patient vaccination portal has left more seniors frustrated and angry.

The county opened registration at 10 a.m. Saturday so residents age 65 and up could make appointments to receive the 8,000 coronavirus vaccines that the county had available. But minutes after opening registration, the portal crashed.

The Florida Department of Health-Pinellas said the vendor, CDR Maguire Health Management, reported problems due to a national server outage. The company was able to resolve the problem and open the portal for registrations at 1:45 p.m. Saturday.

Less than an hour later, all 8,000 appointments were filled.

Residents who were unable to book appointments Saturday should set up an account at the patient portal to make it easier for them to schedule an appointment the next time vaccines are available.

Notifications of new vaccine appointment openings in Pinellas will not be available through sign-ups on the patient portal. Residents are asked to check the county's vaccine website, Facebook and Twitter for regular updates.

There are no vaccines available for residents without appointments and residents cannot be placed on a waiting list. They must call or go online each time a registration period opens.

To date, more than 65,000 doses of vaccine have been distributed in Pinellas County to long-term care facilities, hospitals, health centers, pharmacies, state health departments and residents ages 65 and over.

There are 243,749 people age 65 and older in Pinellas County, according to the 2019 U.S. Census report.

However, Pinellas County seniors say they're tired of wasting their time trying to register for appointments and are demanding the county adopt a different system. They say the system is too slow, too complicated and too unreliable.

Clearwater resident William T. Rogers gave a play by play of his experience.

"So, at 10 a.m. I went to portal, not working. I called. Got busy signal. Kept trying portal. Got it open and very slow. Kept trying to call. Busy. Finally got portal open and it was sluggish. Got 'get vaccinated.' Locations didn't come up. Kept calling. Got automated message. Followed instructions. Lost connection. Kept trying portal. Finally got 'locations' and information that vaccination scheduling was filled. Got message on automation that all schedules were full. This was within the first 15 minutes. So much For the heads up about Saturday morning," he said.

"Ridiculous," said Clearwater resident Pat Driscoll. "This is my second time trying to go through the portal. I got as far as the map page then it began buffering and nothing. This is a ridiculous system."

"All appointments gone in minutes and then the system had glitches big time today," said Desia Ritson of Clearwater. "They have to do better. It is not working right."

"Another sad day trying to sign up for a vaccine in Pinellas," Palm Harbor resident Peggy Guzzie Peck said. "Sometimes I get an error. I have even got as far as seeing sites in Pinellas to sign up, but then only for medical workers, then the balls start flashing and gridlock. Tried the phone number, but they aren't taking phone appointments either. Terribly frustrating system continues."

"Was all registered with CDR HealthPro," said Palm Harbor resident Thane Benson. "Signed in. On the site at 10 a.m. Jan. 23. Now it's almost noon. Little blue balls just vibrating in the middle of the screen. Great job."

See related stories:

• Mad Dash For Vaccine Leaves Pinellas Seniors Irate, Irked
• Pinellas Shuts Down Vaccine Registration Process; Seniors Alarmed
• How To Get A Coronavirus Vaccine In Pinellas County