The state will offer COVID-19 vaccine appointments over the phone starting perhaps as early as next week, Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday. The move comes after users of the state's vaccine web portal complained of long waits and a lack of available appointment slots.
The new phone-in system will focus on making it easier for residents over 75 years old to book an appointment, Baker said. That group will be eligible for doses beginning Monday.
"We have work to do on this stuff, and the phone piece is something I would have liked to have had ready, and we will soon," Baker said at a press briefing in Plymouth. "And I know it will make a big difference for people."
Baker said the appointment website, which ties together various local immunization sites, is hindered by the lack of appointment slots, which are in turn dependent on supplies of the vaccine coming from federal authorities.
"The big hope we have here is that as this goes forward, we get additional vaccine from the feds, we add additional capacity, more people get their first shot and get an appointment for their second shot. But it's going to take a little time," Baker said.
The appointment system only allows eligible residents to book time slots within one week because that's the time frame the state can be assured supplies from the federal government will be available, according to Baker. The governor said that booking appointments in that short of a time frame does limit the number of slots that can be made available but that he doesn't want to have to cancel booked appointments because supplies are unreliable.
