Democratic state senators who have been hearing from frustrated constituents this week are reacting with cautious optimism to the news the state plans to launch a phone hotline for COVID-19 vaccination appointments.
Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, said Thursday that the state will make an announcement about the new hotline early next week.
That comes after complaints that the state's online registration system is too cumbersome and leaves out those without internet access. Residents over age 75 will be eligible for doses beginning Monday, but many say they've spent hours unsuccessfully trying to secure an appointment since the state website began accepting reservations at 12 a.m. Wednesday.
"It's terrible. It's broken. It doesn't work," said state Sen. Pat Jehlen, D-Middlesex, who chairs the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs. Jehlen, who is over age 75 herself, said she's been unable to get a vaccine appointment through the online system.
State Sen. Eric Lesser, D-First Hampden and Hampshire, introduced a bill Thursday that would require the state Department of Public Health to set up a hotline and a "one-stop" website for registration. The current system redirects users to other provider websites to sign up. Lesser said he has a lot of questions about Baker's pending hotline announcement.
"We don't know the details," Lesser said. "Does that mean that there's an announcement next week, and that a call center will open after that? Or next week the call center becomes operational? We need a lot more details ... We want to see, will that call center be 24/7? Will it be in multiple languages? Will it be able to schedule appointments with a live person and answer questions that people might have about vaccine access? Those are all going to be key elements to figuring out whether this is actually going to help solve the problem."
Even if the phone hotline meets those requirements, Lesser said, the web sign-up needs to be simplified and translated into multiple languages.
"For the vaccine to be effective, we need it to reach every community in the state, including communities that are historically under-served by healthcare and who have had some skepticism about the vaccine, given the history of health disparities both in our state and nationally," Lesser said. "So this is very, very important."
"There needs to be a central place, so you don't have to go to 15 different websites to find out if there are appointments and how to make them," Jehlen said.
Baker said Thursday that the system only allows people to book an appointment within a week because the federal government doesn't inform the state beyond that period of how much vaccine will be on hand. Baker said new appointments will be opened up each Thursday.
"If it was centralized, then I wouldn't have to every Thursday go and look and see if there was something at 12:01 and compete with other people on searching," Jehlen said. "This should not be 'Hunger Games.' This should be an organized plan."
Jehlen said with a centralized system, people would be able to fill out a sign-up form then get notified later when a vaccine dose is available at a site near them.
State Sen. Harriette Chandler, D-Worcester, who co-sponsored the bill that Lesser introduced, said she was grateful to hear Baker say a phone hotline is in the works.
"I'm glad that he's listened, and it's a start," Chandler said. Even with that upcoming announcement, she said, the legislation may still be necessary.
"I always believe that you don't remove legislation until you're sure it's not needed," Chandler said. "I have every reason for confidence in what the governor is trying to do. I think he's working hard, and I think his people are working hard. But I think we need to see whether it works or not. And the only way we can do that is to give it a chance."
