SPOKANE, Wash. – The Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) addressed what issues the CHAS Health COVID-19 vaccination online registration website had as it launched Wednesday at 9 a.m.
On background, the website was supposed to let people make appointments to get the COVID-19 vaccine at the Spokane Arena. Even though CHAS Health told KHQ that extra infrastructure was put in place to prevent the website from crashing, the website crashed just as it went live at 9 a.m.
People have called KHQ and said that the following things have happened:
They aren’t able to get on the website at allThe website times out and shows a 503 errorThe are able to get through some steps, but it boots them out and loses their progressThey were on the phone with CHAS and then got disconnected and never received a call back
CHAS Health also provided KHQ with a phone line that people could call and make an appointment before the Washington State Department of Health’s helpline goes live on Friday.
WEBSITE/PHONE LINE DIFFICULTIES:
Chief Administrative Officer Kelley Charvet with CHAS Health said that the high volume of people trying to access the phone line and website caused difficulties. She said they’re working actively to reopen the website and that it’s expected to be working again at 10:30 a.m.
“As was stated previously, we are ready to vaccinate as many people in our region as we possibly can,” Charvet said.
SRHD Interim Health Officer Dr. Francisco Velazquez and Charvet both said vaccine distribution is really dependent on supply.
Dr. Francisco Velazquez, SRHS Interim Health Officer said “please, if you can get immunized.”
APPOINTMENT BOOKING:
According to Chief Administrative Officer Kelley Charvet with CHAS Health, approximately 1,500 appointments were booked through the website. This means all vaccine appointments through Friday are booked.
10 people told KHQ that when the website was down, they were able to get a COVID-19 vaccine without an appointment. They said because they were eligible, and there in-person, the clinic went ahead and gave them the vaccine.
KHQ asked Charvet about this, and she said she couldn’t speak to what happened. She did say though that anybody who booked an appointment should be confident that a vaccine will be available for them, even if that means they have to rely on a community partner to get them a vaccine.
There have been questions about having to register on the CHAS Health website. According to Charvet, you do have to create a username and password, but that’s mainly to verify that your appointment was booked.
Charvet addressed peoples’ frustration with the way Wednesday morning played out.
“We’re asking individuals to be patient,” Charvet said. “The vaccines will come.”
MASS VACCINATION CLINIC LOGISTICS:
The site will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. It’ll be open on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
To get your appointment, fill out the Phase Finder tool, print/screenshot that and then visit the site and follow the steps. CHAS Health recommends that you check in with your primary care provider first.
