Vaccine registration postponed

February 4, 2021 1:30 am
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Submitted by San Juan County.

Please visit the San Juan County COVID Vaccine Page, https://www.sanjuanco.com/1737/COVID-Vaccine-Info, for critical details. Continue reading below for more in-depth information.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The release of vaccine appointments for San Juan County Health and Community Services events has been delayed until 9 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 8.

WA Department of Health has delayed their regularly scheduled Friday release of vaccine allocation numbers to vaccine providers across Washington. This disruption to the usual notification schedule prevents San Juan County from being able to schedule vaccine appointments for the coming week.

NOTE: those who are receiving their second doses will NOT be impacted by this situation.

Impacts on other island providers’ vaccine efforts are unknown at this time. Those providers will update patients and others directly.

Hopefully, shipment details are received over the weekend, and appointments for San Juan County vaccine events next week can be released at 9 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 8.

According to DOH, the cause is due to vaccine providers (not in San Juan County) delivering second doses as first doses, thus disrupting the state-wide supply chain.

At this time there is no guarantee from DOH as to what number of doses will be available for next week

Your patience is appreciated. San Juan County Health & Community Services will be standing by to deliver first doses as soon as supplies allow.

Please continue to monitor the San Juan County Vaccine Page for updated information, but NO appointments will be released before 9 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 8.

As San Juan County Health and Community Services continues to provide vaccine to the islands (many other local providers are also now delivering vaccine!) the registration process has been frustrating for many.

While those who can secure an appointment have had a smooth experience, those who have not are left wishing there was a better way.

The good news is that the County is switching to a new system. That said, some existing challenges will remain. Overall, it is an improvement.

The new registration tool is called PrepMod and is managed by WA Department of Health. The tool is being used by jurisdictions across the country including Los Angeles County, the states of Massachusetts, Alaska, and many more. DOH has recently given approval for it to be used by San Juan County.

As before, reservations will be released at a set time. Register at https://prepmod.doh.wa.gov/clinic/search, and the link is also included in Step 2 on the COVID Vaccine Page. Please note, it will not be possible to find or book appointments in San Juan County until the set time that reservations open.

At this time, it is not known how many doses of vaccine will arrive for next week’s vaccine events. That number will be posted to the COVID Vaccine Page once available.

A video with clear instructions on registering is available at https://youtu.be/PZKxzXbZnas. It is highly recommended that you view the video before registering.

KEY THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:

  • Only those who are currently eligible to receive vaccine may register. Please use the Phase Finder tool at http://www.findyourphasewa.org/ if you are not sure of your eligibility. Note that using this tool does not book your registration or add you to a waitlist.
  • The initial appointment search screen will list vaccine events state-wide. Once San Juan County reservations are open, enter your zip code and a radius of 15 miles and you will see all current vaccine events in San Juan County.
  • Each vaccine event will display the number of available appointments. If that number is zero, you will not be able to register.
  • If slots are available, you will be asked to enter detailed information (again, please view the instructional video at https://youtu.be/PZKxzXbZnas). If multiple people are in the system at the same time, those slots may fill before the registration process is complete. This is certainly not ideal, but we have been informed that the department of health is working with PrepMod to try to address this challenge.
  • If you do secure an appointment, you will see a notification, and then receive a confirmation email (be sure to check your spam folder!)

OVERALL SUMMARY OF THE PREPMOD SYSTEM

Improvements

  • Improved user interface.
  • Eliminates the possibility of double bookings.
  • Better (but not perfect) indication of when all slots are full.
  • Drastically improved experience when receiving vaccine — no longer any need for paper forms.
  • Automated system improves time to deliver a dose, leading to quicker vaccine delivery (once supplies are available).

Challenges

  • Many will find that no appointments are left by the time they complete the registration process. Hopefully, the DOH will find a fix for this.
  • There is no waitlist capability.

NOTE: We recognize that these are significant challenges. Hopefully, the PrepMod tool continues to improve, and things will become less frustrating as supply increases.

For now, demand far exceeds supply. Please take a look at the Q&A video at https://youtu.be/8KjZ5_em9Ls for a more detailed look at the San Juan County vaccine delivery process.

Thank you, islanders, for your ongoing patience and diligence during this difficult time.