Carson City Health and Human Services answers questions regarding vaccination appointment confusion

For many, the knowledge that their own COVID-19 vaccinations are just around the corner has been hopeful. For others, however, the process of reserving a spot has been more than a little confusing.

According to Sarah Lemire, who is over 70 years old and has been trying to schedule an appointment to become vaccinated, the process seemed muddled and confusing.

“I have been extremely stressed trying to get an appointment for the vaccine here in Carson City,” said Lemire in an email to Carson Now. “The Senior Center has no information, the (COVID-19) hotline has no information, and the online appointment system says there are none available until May.”

Lemire was able to schedule herself an appointment for the vaccine through Smiths, which has now begun offering the vaccine to seniors 70 years and over, but she is not alone is being confused by the appointment process.

Jessica Rapp from Carson City Health and Human Services (CCHHS) answered questions about the process to help make it more clear for those struggling.

According to Rapp, appointments are made on a weekly basis based on how many vaccines CCHHS receives during that week.

Rapp stated that the message stating there are no appointments until May is a system error when an individual selects a date that is greyed out. However, it does not mean that the individual cannot make an appointment until May, it just means that the appointments for that week are already booked.

“New events and appointments are added weekly as we receive our vaccine allocation,” said Rapp. “We are encouraging individuals to check the scheduling website regularly. The COVID-19 Hotline staff are not able to schedule appointments for individuals if all appointments for the week are booked. They are the same system as everyone else attempting to make a vaccination appointment, therefore they will have the same priority as the general public. Due to the high call volume for those needing assistance, we have expanded the resources available to assist Seniors age 70+ with scheduling their appointment if they do not have internet access or are having difficulties.”

Rapp stated that CCHHS has been receiving around 2,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine per week, and are scheduling appointments based on exactly how many dosages they receive. So far, not a single vaccine has been wasted within the Quad-Counties.

“Allocations vary by week and is based on the amount that the state is allocated from the federal government,” said Rapp. “This week we will start our first round of second doses so our allocation will account for that.”

Currently CCHHS is vaccinating:
* General Medical and Surgical Hospital Staff
* Long Term Care Facility Staff and Residents
* Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospital Staff
* Emergency Medical Services Personnel
* Frontline Public Health Workforce and Volunteers
* Laboratory Workers
* Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians
* Outpatient and Home Health Providers
* Nevada Department of Corrections Staff
* Law Enforcement and Public Safety Personnel
* Deployed and mission critical personnel who play essential role in national security
* State and Local Emergency Operations Managers and Staff
* Education and Childcare Staff
* Nevada System of Higher Education Faculty
* Seniors ages 70 and up

Pharmacies such as Walgreens and Smith’s have begun vaccinating as well within the Quad-Counties, but they are not associated with CCHHS. The pharmacies are able to vaccinate individuals who are over the age of 70 at this time.