Day 1 of the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine in Broward County is not easy

DAVIE, Fla. – Don’t bother calling the Florida Department of Health in Broward County to make an appointment if you qualify for a COVID-19 vaccine – notice from the Department of Health is to make the appointment online .

That’s a tough feat considering the website has been offline more often than it worked. Many people say they’ve been trying to get an appointment for weeks.

[RELATED: Get the details on Broward County locations: Vista View Park, Davie; Tradewinds Park, Coconut Creek, and, on Tuesday, Markham Park, Sunrise. The website address: https://browardcovidvaccine.com/ NOTE: As of 8 p.m. Sunday, the website was still not working. “We sincerely apologize. This site has been taken down for maintenance in order to serve you better. Thank You.”]

On Day 1 of the vaccination rollout for people over 65 and older, the sailing was at Vista View Park, one of two locations open Sunday. The other was Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek.

Hundreds of people showed up at Vista View Park and were given the vaccine, while others were turned down because they didn’t have an appointment, or because they got caught in the maze of the website crash.

Sunday morning there was a brief window showing the website working, but it crashed shortly afterwards, despite the FDOH sending a message that the website was back up and running.

At Vista View Park, a line of cars stretched through the park and down a side street for most of the day. The COVID-19 vaccination site opened at 8am and would stay open until 4pm on Sundays.

Jonathan Tabachnikoff, a health professional, accompanied his 74-year-old mother who had an appointment made online.

“The line was around the corner and it took us an hour to get to the entrance to be told there was a computer malfunction, but if we were okay to stay we were welcome and it would be a few more hours last., ‘said Tabachnikoff.

The two struggled to find an appointment for her until a place became available online this morning.

Others who showed up today also hoped for the best after the website was able to secure secure areas that crashed repeatedly, even while booking an appointment.

Richard Mure waited in his car, hoping that if he got to the front of the queue, he could get a vaccine.

“The site kept crashing, so we tried to come back, but it just kept saying, you can’t get in anymore, you’ve already registered with an appointment. I hope their technology is sniffing out and they have the availability to find my name there, ”said Mure.

Information from the Florida Department of Health states:

If you registered before, you should have received an email confirmation. Check your spam or junk mail folders. For all future appointments, a confirmation email will be sent within 48 hours of registration.

If you’re trying to register and find that appointments aren’t available, check back regularly as we’re increasing the number of senior vaccination sites in Broward County in the coming weeks.

Vaccinations are available free of charge, by appointment only. Appointments for drive-thru vaccination sites can be made at https://browardcovidvaccine.com. Appointments cannot be made by phone at this time.

Individuals who receive a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will automatically receive an appointment for the second dose 21 days later.

Overall, the vaccine rollout here and in the state has been rocky. The head of the department overseeing the program appeared on Local 10’s Sunday news program, “This Week in South Florida,” and explained the difficulties.

“It’s hard to make long-term planning if you only see seven days when the vaccine will arrive,” said Jared Moskowitz, director of Florida Division of Emergency Management. “There is a lot of hesitation among providers about the second shot, again, because we can’t really see when that second shot is coming and even though that first episode of the second shot has come.”

Moskowitz said his department will oversee the rollout of vaccination sites and will review all issues and needs as the week goes on so things go smoothly. this is the dual Pfizer vaccine that was distributed.

The coronavirus testing site at Holiday Park in Broward County is in the midst of transition to a vaccination site.

According to the city of Fort Lauderdale, it is partnering with neighboring cities of Oakland Park, Pompano Beach and Wilton Manors to set up a COVID-19 vaccination site.

Once operational, it will be managed by the Florida Department of Health.

(Below is the fact sheet that recipients will receive before receiving the Pfizer vaccination.)