PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — “Significant issues” with Pierce County’s online scheduler led to double-booked COVID-19 vaccine appointments and errors in confirmation emails this week.
“We know you’re upset. We would be upset, too,” Stephanie Dunkel, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (TPCHD) assistant division director of communicable disease, wrote in a Thursday blog post.
In the post, Dunkel said many people registered for a Jan. 30 vaccine clinic in Gig Harbor after appointments were already filled, and some people who registered for one clinic got a confirmation email for another clinic or no confirmation at all. There were also problems with the registration link.
If you registered for the Gig Harbor vaccine clinic, TPCHD sent another email to those registrants clarifying their booking. People who made appointments before the slots were filled will keep their appointments, but people who booked afterwards will need to find another appointment at a different clinic.
The health department said it can’t create waitlists for everyone who was impacted by the technical error, but it will offer more community clinics in the following months. People can sign up to be notified about new clinics on the health department’s website.
TPCHD will also replace its registration system with a new one “soon,” according to the department.
Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier said the county has 1 million people to vaccinate and the goal is to create a system that allows the county to vaccinate 5,000 residents a day.
The county has one other vaccine clinic currently planned at Eatonville High School on Jan. 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's a walk-up clinic with no appointment necessary.