Talbot County’s first attempt to get a general population group signed up for COVID-19 vaccinations has had a few hiccups, but officials are working to improve the process.
On Monday, Maryland moved to Phase 1B in its vaccination plan, which allows residents 75 and older to be vaccinated.
Local health departments, including in Talbot County, are working to get that group signed up for vaccination clinics, with some information tied in to a state registration website over which local agencies have no control.
Talbot County’s first clinic for those 75 and up is set for Friday, Jan. 22, and the 150 slots available were filled within 12-20 minutes after about 200 people were emailed a registration link, health officials said.
“Our fix is to continue scheduling additional clinics that people can register in advance for, and to send out the signup link to a more targeted number of recipients,” Dr. Maria Maguire, the county’s acting health officer, said in a statement. “We also plan to keep pre-registrants informed with regular communications so they know the next steps they should do.
“As this was our first attempt to get a general population group signed up, a mistake was inadvertently made in that process,” Maguire said. “We were trying to get people signed up as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we continue to be extremely limited with our vaccine supply.”
As of 2013, Talbot County had more than 4,000 residents aged 75 and older. Population estimates in 2019 show the county has more than 11,000 residents who are 65 and up.
Maguire announced in a Jan. 14 press release that the health department was ready to move to Phase 1B following Gov. Larry Hogan’s announcement that he was accelerating Maryland’s COVID-19 vaccination plan.
In addition to residents 75 years of age and older, Phase 1B includes assisted living, group homes and other congregate care facilities, continuity of government officials, high risk incarcerated adults, and K-12 school staff.
Healthcare workers and first responders were in Phase 1A.
“We are only limited by the number of vaccinations supplied,” Maguire said Jan. 14. “We have the capacity to vaccinate everyone in Talbot County in a timely matter.”
Talbot County residents 75 years of age and older must pre-register for their COVID-19 vaccinations on the health department’s website at bit.ly/talbot-75. The health department will then respond to individuals to schedule vaccination clinic appointments.
The health department also is on the process of setting up a call center for residents to schedule vaccinations, with updates
announced through social media, on the TCHD and talbotcovid19.org webpages, and through public service announcements.
As of Tues., Jan. 12, the Talbot County Health Department had received 1,700 Moderna vaccinations and had administered 1,132 by Jan. 14. The health department requests vaccinations each week, and has been receiving on average 500 vaccinations per week.
In the email sent late Tuesday afternoon to residents who had pre-registered for a vaccination appointment, the health department noted: “Appointments are extremely limited so if no appointments are available when you try to sign up, please note we will be contacting you again when additional clinics are scheduled.”
Wilson W Wyatt says
This is frustrating. There couldn’t be a more serious issue for seniors in Talbot County, yet the ability to communicate and set up vaccinations is not working. As a senior in the 1b category (over 75 with a preexisting condition), I filled out a form immediately. That’s the last I’ve heard. The County and State health communications sounds like everything is moving along smoothly. That’s just not true.
David Montgomery says
I do not disagree with my friend Wilson Wyatt that this has been a frustrating process. Finding out how to sign up for Phase 1b was far too difficult. Nevertheless, I conclude that the approach of the Talbot health department does advance the common good better than any other. We have observed the waste and slow distribution of vaccine in states that tried — far too late, in most cases — to set complex priorities and allocate supplies so that they would go to the right recipients and no one else. Vaccines sat in refrigerators and were ruined when there were too few eligibles to use them, while others who were frequently exposed to possible infection went without. Far better to push the vaccine out as fast as possible, benefiting recipients and moving faster to herd immunity. Talbot health officials did aim for a vulnerable group, the over-75, and then took the fastest possible route to getting their available doses into use. Some — not Mr Wyatt. — think that health officials should have first figured out who had internet access, who was housebound, who more at risk than others, then applied principles of fairness and need to allocate specific doses to specific individuals, before starting to administer the vaccine. Far better to get it out of the refrigerators into the arms of the quickest 75+ year olds than to let doses sit unused while the bureaucracy grinds away. Not everyone could get the first 175 doses, and this way the decks are clear for the next tranche to be distributed. Good for the brave soul who had this idea.
Julie Susman says
Could it work to register everyone and then send each one their appointment time based on when vaccine materiel is available starting with the first to register and going down the list methodically? If you don’t have the vaccines, just let folks know they will be in the next bath. When it is delivered, send that group a message letting them know the vaccines have arrived and the clinic will be held on such and such date from “x” time to “y” time. This way we aren’t all scrambling to grab an appointment when they are all gone in 12 minutes. Have a couple of “walk in ” options to fill in for any no-shows.
Harry D. Slaughter III says
I too have found the sign up process frustrating. My understanding from Gov. Hogans last update was the state would open vaccine to 65 and up on Jan 25.
I am age 74 and sent an interest form to Talbot County Health Web site. I have gotten a mechanical confirmation of my submission of interest. No reply from the county to sign up for the Jan 25th release of vaccine to 65 and over. Should one try and sign up with another county. I hear Dorchester is doing a good job. ? ?
Harry D. Slaughter III
Kay ruark says
Unable to submit vfacine consent form after completion
Francine De Sanctis says
Now that the country actually had a comprehensive plan to attack the virus, I hope things will go smoother. Since many residents within the 75+ age group are not computer saavy, maybe requiring this format in order to schedule an appointment might not have been the best move? Also, to listen to the governor, the numbers of both vaccine and workers to administer the vaccine are plentiful. However the eastern shore is not that fortunate. The governor’s directive should be tempered with our reality.