A virtual loophole in a Michigan vaccine planning system allowed thousands of people to skip the queue and book appointments.
Beaumont Health, Michigan’s largest healthcare system, said Monday that an online user has found a way to bypass the state vaccine group priority criteria to schedule an appointment.
The user took advantage of a vulnerability in its Epic scheduling tool – an electronic medical record system – before disclosing the unauthorized path, the health care provider said in a statement.
This enabled more than 2,700 people to bypass Michigan’s current vaccination requirements and “stay aligned.”
Michigan’s mandatory vaccine guidelines explain that the state is aiming to vaccinate 70 percent of adults 16 or older, or about 5.6 million people, against COVID-19 by the end of 2021. But with limited supplies, Michigan has prioritized allocating vaccines to high-risk groups. of a serious COVID disease or those who ensure the continued functioning of the healthcare system and essential services.
Jeff Kowalsky / AFP via Getty Images
Efforts in southeast Michigan are ramping up as Wayne County gets nearly 8,400 doses of the vaccine this week – nearly double the shipment last week, according to WXYZ. The broadcaster also reported that many of the people who booked the appointments may not have known they were going through an unauthorized route.
It’s because President Joe Biden’s administration has set a goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in the first 100 days.
Beaumont Health said it is canceling all unauthorized appointments made through the back door after the IT team discovered and halted the unusual online activity on Saturday.
It added that people who have made their appointment this way will be notified of the cancellation via the email address they provided during the booking process.
“These appointments violate the ethical distribution framework Beaumont has established under the state of Michigan’s mandatory vaccine guidelines,” said Hans Keil, senior vice president and chief information officer at Beaumont Health.
“We regret that 2,700 people in our community have been victims of this unfortunate incident. We remain committed to vaccinating as many people as possible who meet state guidelines. We also bring in the Michigan Hospital Association and other health systems. Michigan is aware of the matter. “
The IT company Epic also released a statement saying, “We are working with Beaumont to address this situation, but this will not hinder those currently eligible to schedule an appointment and receive a vaccine. .
It added that sharing this information did not compromise anyone’s medical records or hospital records.
As the US health system works to quickly meet and exceed the Biden administration’s goal of vaccinating and surpassing 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of the government, Epic is partnering with hundreds of health systems to establish and manage from massive vaccination sites across the country. “
Beaumont said it will still continue to send email invitations to people who meet state criteria to schedule their COVID-19 vaccine, adding that the technical glitch will not interrupt ongoing vaccination operations. It also said anyone who has scheduled his or her vaccination appointment through Beaumont’s standard process will not be affected by this issue.
Michigan isn’t the only state to have seen problems with people cutting the queue for vaccines.
Crowds of people took advantage of an opportunity to get vaccines prematurely in Austin, Texas, where the rollout was reportedly confused. On Jan. 2, the Austin Regional Clinic held a “massive vaccination event,” where they administered injections to more than 900 people, even if they weren’t among the most vulnerable, KVUE said.
An ARC spokesman said in a statement, “We recognize the need to fine-tune our process to ensure vaccination of priority individuals.”