Despite the progress, getting appointments for vaccinations has been a huge disappointment for many people. Appointments will be filled within minutes depending on availability. States, local health departments, and pharmacy chains have their own registration websites, which in many cases do not share data with one another. The CDC has its own Vaccine Administration System (VAMS) which some states use to register people for vaccinations and collect important data. However, state officials have complained that this is clunky.
Disgruntled people have taken matters into their own hands, setting up online navigator tools and Facebook groups for “vaccine hunters” in cities like Los Angeles and New Orleans to connect people with available doses.
Updated
Apr. 24, 2021, 8:33 p.m. ET
When the VaccineFinder portal goes live this week, it will include a few drug and grocery stores nationwide, as well as many other locations such as mass vaccination sites in Alaska, Indiana, Iowa, and Tennessee.
Kristen Nordlund, a CDC spokeswoman, said the agency is encouraging vaccination centers to “provide accurate and up-to-date information on the location, hours and availability of vaccines so that Americans can more easily find vaccination sites.”
Dr. Marcus Plescia, Chief Medical Officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, said, “I think people are optimistic and are eagerly awaiting it.” big confusion to come, but I think we just have to work it through. “
In the first few weeks of the vaccine’s launch, it was relatively easy to find doses when eligible individuals – healthcare workers, residents and long-term care workers – were mainly vaccinated where they lived or worked.
However, since then states have expanded their eligibility criteria to include the elderly, people with certain medical conditions, and certain frontline workers. Additional locations for vaccine dispensing have been added, including stadiums and local pharmacies.
