Indian River County to roll out COVID vaccine waitlist this week

Beginning sometime this week, Indian River County residents aged 65 and older will be able to sign up for a waitlist for an initial COVID-19 vaccination appointment on the county’s newly-tweaked Everbridge public notification system to replace the current online derby that has frustrated thousands.

The same system currently used by some 50,000 county residents to be notified of hurricanes and other local emergencies is being modified to allow online registration for a random drawing aimed at ending what county administrator Jason Brown calls “the fast-finger problem” plaguing the current set-up.

“The county system will be up and running in the next few days,” Brown told county commissioners Tuesday.  “We will put a waitlist and draw from that waitlist to set appointments.  We will have a call center for those are not tech savvy.”

Announcements will be made on social media, news releases and emergency alerts when the system is ready, he said.  It will cover initial doses of the vaccine being administered at the county fairgrounds by the Indian River County Health Department and Emergency Operations personnel, and is separate from vaccine programs at Publix, Cleveland Clinic, Treasure Coast Community Health, the Veterans Administration and the state’s ShareCare program.  

Brown said the state rolled out the ShareCare waitlist program late last week with no advance notice, confusing county officials and the public.  He pledged to work with state officials to straighten things out.

“A dueling wait list is not helpful,” Brown said.

Meanwhile, some 3,000 booster shots of the  vaccine will be administered through Sunday at the fairgrounds for those who already received their initial dose.  No first doses will be given this week, Brown said.  So far, more than 19,000 county residents have been vaccinated–about 12 percent of the population.

The county decided to stick with Everbridge instead of hiring private software contractor Luminaire to set up a waitlist because Everbridge is cheaper–$59,000 instead of $150,000.

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