Coronavirus Update: A Note On the Senior Registration Rollout

Dear Neighbors,

DC Health expanded vaccine registration access for District residents aged 65 years and older yesterday, and the rollout came with a significant number of frustrations and challenges for seniors using the online registration portal and call-in number.

My office is in contact with the team at DC Health to identify and correct the many vaccinate.dc.gov registration process redundancies and user issues, such as the need to re-enter information ad nauseam. Thank you to those who have already emailed and alerted me of these operational problems—this helps me better communicate with DC Health as to what must be changed. Happily, the agency notified me this afternoon that they will launch user-friendly updates to the online portal and will clearly state which sites have available appointments and which sites are full moving forward.

Functionality problems with the website aside, the real challenge with today's rollout has been the fact that DC Health has identified about 84,960 residents in the 65 and older group who now qualify to register for a vaccine supply that does not yet meet this demand. Apparently, there were only 6,700 vaccine registration appointments available today. The District has typically received around 4,000 vaccine doses per week. This week we expect to receive an additional 8,300 doses. But, even with this increase, it is clear that there was simply no possible way that there would be enough doses or appointments available for every senior anxious to receive one. And while the production and distribution of vaccines will increase, hopefully significantly under the new Biden Administration's mass distribution plan, we do not yet have a consistent distribution schedule or allotment from the federal government; this makes planning and confirming future appointments exceptionally difficult.

The registration process was undeniably disappointing, but we must keep in mind that this is just the first day of registration for those in the senior group.

Yesterday was by no means the only opportunity to sign up for a vaccine. And, as DC Health receives new doses, so too will new appointments become available. The agency has already committed to improving the online registration portal and, with your input, this process will only continue to improve. Due to DC Health's distribution site requirements, as informed by the unique storage/thawing needs of mRNA vaccines and the capacity needs of the agency, there are also limited options in our immediate area to make an appointment. This is important to note as residents may need to book appointments at larger distribution sites outside of Ward 3. I recognize that this creates accessibility challenges, so I'll continue to work with DC Health to identify potential additional sites for Ward 3 seniors.

I have a number of outstanding issues to address with DC Health (including confirmation that the automatic alert system is functioning, whether additional call volume can be added to the appointment phone line, and what plan is in place for inoculating home-bound seniors), and will share agency answers as I receive them. In the meantime, it is important to remember that we still have access to simple, yet strong tools to protect ourselves: always wearing a mask when outside of the home, maintaining social distance, regular hand washing, and staying at home to the greatest extent possible. These safety tools have not changed and make a world of difference in terms of reducing community spread and reducing the risk of coronavirus.

Vaccine rollout will continue, and so too should our prevention efforts.

Regards,

Mary