PHOENIX — As the Arizona Department of Health Services opened up COVID-19 vaccine appointments to those 65 and older, many faced difficulty to schedule a spot due to a slow-running registration site Tuesday morning.
About 150,000 spots at the state-run vaccination sites at State Farm Stadium and Phoenix Municipal Stadium opened up all those eligible to receive the vaccine Tuesday morning at 9 a.m.
Arizonans have booked up all of those appointments.
But many became frustrated as the site was in high demand and running slow for users.
Bob Hassler was on the site a few minutes before the appointments were available.
“It’s been a long, long year like it has been for everyone,” Hassler said.
Hassler wants to get his shot as soon as possible.
“It’s like the savior,” Hassler said.
He was one of the thousands who logged on to try and secure their spot and faced a slow-moving registration site.
“You kind of feel helpless for a bit, because you just can't get through and you want to get it scheduled,” Hassler said.
It took Frank Poole more than an hour and a couple of tries to get his appointment.
A lot of that time was spent looking at a spinning loading circle on his screen, a sight many reported experiencing as they tried to book their appointment.
“It’s kind of a frustrating process because you have to pick everyday and everyday and everyday, keep going through the calendar until you finally find a date this open,” Poole said.
It took another woman almost three hours to get an appointment for her mom.
By 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, all the nearly 14,000 appointments at Phoenix Municipal Stadium were booked up, according to AZDHS.
All of the appointments at both state-run sites were booked before 11 p.m.
After two computers, refreshing a browser 15 times, and 34 minutes, Hassler was able to get his appointment.
“Felt like I hit the lottery,” Hassler said. “I’m just thrilled that I have an appointment. I’m so happy, it’s like, it’s like, yeah, it’s like the light at the end of the tunnel is actually there now.”
If you run into issues, the best advice is to keep selecting different days and refreshing those days, be patient and keep trying.
To make an appointment, you’ll need an account through the state. You can make one at this site: podvaccine.azdhs.gov.
If you need help registering, ADHS asks you to call 1-844-542-8201 so someone can help you get your appointment.
COVID-19 Vaccine
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