Texas launches COVID-19 vaccine scheduler website as it expands eligibility

Texas launched a COVID-19 vaccine scheduler website to help people search for appointments amid the expansion of the state’s eligibility requirements for everyone over the age of 16.  

The website was launched on Monday. It will allow people to search for vaccine appointments across multiple providers, The Dallas Morning News reported.

One issue the state is facing is a person signing up for the vaccination list at multiple providers in order to get the first appointment. However, many forget to take themselves off the list at other COVID-19 vaccine providers once they do get vaccinated.

The result has been many no-shows or cancellation appointments from those who have already been vaccinated in a different area, according to the Morning News.

“The goal is for us to have many people registering in the system, so we can identify exactly where they’re physically located across the state and work to create events in those communities,” Nancy Ejuma, a deputy associate commissioner at the Texas Department of State Health Services, told the newspaper.

Texas has vaccinated 17 percent of its population but is still having a slower vaccine rollout than other states.

The system will ensure that a person does not have to sign up for multiple lists at different vaccine providers.

“People were putting their names on so many lists,” Cleburne City Manager Steve Polasek said. “A lot of people never called to say ‘hey, I want to cancel.’ ”

Texas is one of the states that has already lifted its mask mandate and loosened almost all of its coronavirus restrictions.

State websites for vaccination appointments in other states were also having difficulties when vaccines started to become more widely available.

New Jersey’s system was losing registrations and glitching when citizens tried booking their appointments, leading to a slow vaccine rollout at the time.

Texas has seen more than 2.7 million reported coronavirus cases and more than 48,000 deaths.